Those Magic Changes
by hikaranko
Summary: Akane drags Ranma with her on a shopping trip and they both get a wicked whiff of some strange perfume. Turns out, it's not a perfume at all, and it has some pretty potent side effects...
1. All Choked Up

**Those Magic Changes  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Akane drags Ranma with her on a shopping trip and they both get a wicked whiff of some _strange _perfume. Turns out, it's not a perfume at all, and it has some pretty potent side effects...

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I _ever _own the characters of the Ranma 1/2 series. Sometimes I wish I did, but the truth is that I don't. Credit for the idea of this story goes to Paperdoll, the author of the Harry Potter fanfic "Drawn to You". This story is named after a song from the play "Grease", and the chapters are named after various songs. Credits for all of those go to the appropriate people.

**Author's Note: **Like it says in the disclaimer, I got this idea after hearing about and reading the Harry Potter fanfic "Drawn to You." Go check it out, it's in my favorites. A friend and I agreed that it would be interesting if a similar thing happened to Ranma and Akane (yes, I want them to just be together already), and lo, this story popped up.

* * *

_**Chapter 1  
**_**All Choked Up**

_Well, I feel so strange  
__Well, upon my word  
__My brain is reelin' and my eyesight's blurred  
__Well, I'm tremblin' a lot  
__I'm nervous, and I'm hot  
__Uh-huh, I'm all choked up_

The old antique store was dimly lit. The interior was dusty, as though none of the products on display had been touched for ages. The items ranged from voodoo dolls and scented candles to potion bottles and talismans. The store manager, a lean old man with thinning gray hair and a pair of glasses perched on his nose, idly wandered from one end of the room to the other, staring at everything as though he were taking inventory. Not that anything had changed lately. His hands were tucked into his trouser pockets as he marched almost dutifully through the store. Eventually, he let out a long, even breath and returned to his place behind the counter, staring blankly at the door in the hopes that he could will someone to enter.

And it seemed like it worked.

Within moments, two teenagers, a girl and a boy, entered the store. The girl had short, dark hair with bangs that fell into her brown eyes. She was wearing a long sleeved white shirt underneath a blue-green skirt that had straps going over her shoulders. The old man recognized the outfit as the uniform of Furinkan High, the local high school. She bowed politely when her eyes met with the store manager's before continuing into the store to examine things.

The boy that trailed behind her had dark hair that was tied back into a long pigtail and sharp blue eyes that were shielded by his shaggy bangs. Though he was apparently accompanying the girl, he was not dressed in the Furinkan High uniform. He was dressed in a red chinese shirt with long sleeves that were rolled halfway up his arms and baggy blue black pants. He was only half as polite as the girl, dropping his arms from where they had been resting on the back of his head and stuffing them into his pockets.

The store manager watched them, fascinated, surprised, and overjoyed that two teenagers would enter the old store. "Can I... help you with something?"

The girl looked over at the old man and flashed a smile. "Oh, I'm just looking for now."

"Why do you wanna look for presents in _here_, Akane?" the boy asked the girl as he looked around at the items on display.

The girl named Akane glanced back at him and shrugged. "Well, why not? This place caught my eye, and I don't remember ever seeing it before."

The boy shrugged. "I dunno. Seems like a weird place to look for Christmas presents."

Akane turned away in annoyance and picked up an old vase and examined it. She wiped some of the dust away to get a better look at the design underneath. Upon seeing the tasteless pattern, she put the vase back down where she had found it and moved on. After a moment, she glanced over her shoulder at the boy, who was still standing near the entrance with his hands in his pockets.

"Shouldn't you be looking for Christmas presents too, Ranma?"

Ranma turned to look at Akane and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll do it later. I mean, Christmas is still a week away."

Akane narrowed her eyes. "You probably just can't figure out what to get anybody."

"Not true," Ranma replied casually. "I know _exactly _what to buy for people."

"Well, I'm sure you don't have to worry about Shampoo or Ukyo. They'll probably be dropping some huge hints on what _they _want from you." The young girl then quickly returned to her browsing.

"For your information," Ranma snapped, "I ain't plannin' on gettin' those two _anything_."

Akane scoffed. "So you say."

Ranma watched Akane fume. "Geez, she is _so _uncute," he muttered under his breath.

In a fit of annoyance, Akane grabbed the nearest item available (which happened to be an expensive looking, but not very attractive antique vase) and hurled it in Ranma's direction. The pigtailed boy caught the vase carefully with a loud, surprised yelp.

"Whoa! Careful with these, Akane!"

She replied with an annoyed "harumph" and quickly turned away. Ranma narrowed his eyes at her, annoyed, then began to toss the vase from one hand to the other. He quickly realized that doing so wasn't a very good idea, and hurried over to where Akane had picked the vase up and returned it. Ranma glanced over at Akane, waiting for her to give up and leave.

After a long moment of silence, Ranma realized that she wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. He then began to look at the weird stuff that covered the walls and shelves, but chose not to touch anything more. He didn't want to end up dropping something and having to pay for it as a consequence. For one thing, he hadn't seen anything he'd like, and for another, he didn't have any money on him.

He slowed his step when he was just a few feet behind Akane and followed her slowly. His eyes glanced over everything her gaze lingered on in an attempt to figure out what she was thinking about getting. And who she was planning on giving the items to.

"So, uh... gettin' anything?"

Akane shot Ranma a mean look, as though he had no right to speak to her. "Still looking."

"Who're you thinkin' of buyin' for?"

She hesitated slightly before shrugging her shoulders. "I was thinking maybe Kasumi, or Dr. Tofu, since they're both a bit eccentric." Akane picked up a wax candle and examined it briefly before replacing it. "They might like this kind of stuff."

"Kasumi or Dr. Tofu, huh?" Ranma repeated, considering the idea.

He turned slightly so that he could look around the store, searching for something that the two aforementioned eccentrics might like. His blue eyes wandered, passing over every item that was visible to him. Akane glanced up at Ranma once, surprised to see that it looked like he was trying to help her. She then smiled secretly to herself and moved on.

The store manager watched them for a little while longer before disappearing into the bathroom. He was thrilled that teenagers had entered the shop, but he was starting to doubt that they were going to seriously consider buying something.

Ranma's ever observant eyes caught on a bottle that was resting on a shelf on the other side of the shop. It looked to him like a simple perfume bottle, filled with a reddish pink liquid. It was the kind that you press down on the cap to spray. He looked at it for a moment, considering whether or not a girl like Kasumi would like perfume. He then tapped Akane lightly on the arm, making her turn to look at him.

"What?"

"Ya think Kasumi likes perfume?"

Akane blinked. "Um... probably."

"How 'bout that one?" He pointed at the bottle he'd spotted on the shelf.

Somewhat confused, Akane slowly turned to look where Ranma had pointed. A smile grew on her face and she quickly crossed the room to reach it. Ranma sighed, shoving his hands back into his pockets, and followed. Akane picked up the perfume bottle gently and wiped it clean of the dust that had collected on its surface. The bottle itself was beautiful; the glass was as clear as crystal (once it was cleaned), and was intricately designed in the shape of a rose in full bloom.

"This is beautiful!" Akane breathed. "Kasumi would love this! I wonder how much it costs..."

Ranma shrugged. "Shouldn't it say? Like, on a price tag or somethin'?"

Akane examined the bottle carefully. "Hmm... I don't see a tag on it anywhere. Looks like we'll have to ask."

They turned to look at the counter, Akane opening her mouth to call out to the store manager, but no one was standing behind it. Ranma blinked.

"What the...? Where'd the old guy go?"

Confused, both Ranma and Akane walked over to the counter, placing the bottle gently on top of it. Akane then leaned over the counter slightly, looking for the old store manager. She found no sign of him.

"That's strange... Hello? Excuse me? Is anyone there?"

No answer. Ranma and Akane exchanged glances before looking again. Ranma cupped one hand over his mouth.

"Hey! Anyone there?" Still no response. Ranma folded his arms over his chest in annoyance. "I don't believe this. Where'd the guy go?"

"Oh, well," Akane sighed. She looked at the bottle sadly. "Maybe it's not for sale."

"It wouldn't be in the store if it weren't for sale," Ranma replied. He then grinned as a thought occured to him. "Maybe it stinks, so they can't sell it."

Akane looked offended. "Don't be stupid! I'm sure it smells just as beautiful as it looks."

Ranma gaped at Akane in surprise, on the verge of bursting out into laughter. "_What_? What did you just say?"

"As they say, 'a rose called by any other name would still smell as sweet'."

The teenage boy rolled his eyes. "Puh-_lease_. Spare me the cheesy lines."

"I'll prove it!"

With that, Akane picked up the bottle and sprayed a large amount of the perfume into Ranma's face, forcing him to smell it. His eyes shot wide open as his senses involuntarily took in what could have been the most malodorous perfume he had ever smelled. His sense of smell had been maimed, and for a long moment, Ranma couldn't smell anything. He yelled loudly as he tripped backward, trying to get away from it, and fell flat on his back on the store floor.

Akane blinked in mild shock, then looked at the bottle with a sigh.

"But it looks so beautiful," she murmured sadly.

"Never do that again!" Ranma shouted as soon as he'd recovered, jumping back to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Ranma! I thought that...!"

The boy immediately snatched the perfume bottle out of her hand and turned it on her. "Let's see how _you _like it!"

Akane's eyes went wide as she found herself face to face with the nose of the perfume bottle. She shifted her gaze briefly to look at Ranma, who had his usual arrogant grin on his face.

"You wouldn't."

"Yeah, I would."

Ranma's posture broke for a moment as he sneezed, but he then immediately composed himself. He sniffed slightly, still annoyed that the hideous smell was caught in his nose. He then took a step forward as Akane took a step back.

"Ranma...?"

His grin only broadened maliciously, and the next thing Akane knew was the rancid stench of the perfume, filling her senses. The smell was powerful and overwhelming, and not only did she feel She backed away quickly with a yelp, almost crashing into the display tables behind her. Ranma put the bottle on top of the counter and folded his arms over his chest as he watched Akane fumble around.

"Well? Smell as beautiful as it looks?"

Akane went into a coughing fit as she steadied herself and looked up at Ranma angrily. She rubbed her nose and sniffled as she straightened to her full height.

"So I was wrong. Anyone could make that mistake."

The pigtailed boy rolled his eyes before putting his hands over his nose and mouth and sneezed. Akane took advantage of the moment, grabbing the bottle again and spraying it over Ranma's head. Ranma shouted in horror as the smell descended on him again. He then raised his head, keeping one hand over his nose, and snatched the bottle right out of Akane's grasp. Akane screamed as Ranma had his revenge and sprayed her.

"Ah! Ranma, _stop _it! You'll get it all over my clothes!"

"You already got it all over mine!"

"Stop it!"

Ranma withdrew his hand slightly. "Had enough?"

"Yes!"

He grinned broadly as he set the perfume bottle down on the counter. He then sneezed again, doubling over. Akane straightened to her full height and raised her shirt sleeve to her nose. She groaned and coughed at the malodor.

"Ugh. We should head home. I've gotta change out of these clothes."

----------------------------------

The store manager let out a long, satisfied breath as he shut the bathroom door behind him, folding up the newspaper and tucking it under one arm. He dropped the papers on the counter as he re-entered the main store and glanced around the shop. Empty again. The two teenagers had left without buying anything, just as he thought. His eyes suddenly went wide as he realized that they might have stolen something.

He checked the store twice over to make sure that nothing was missing. Everything was still there. A few items had been shifted slightly, leaving marks in the thin layer of dust that had covered everything. And one item was now sitting on the counter; an empty perfume bottle in the shape of a rose. Its surface had been cleaned of dust as though someone had been holding it. There wasn't much of the liquid left inside the bottle.

The old man picked up the bottle and examined it carefully. He knew what it was. He then shrugged his shoulders, dismissing it, and returned the bottle to where it had been before. He then slowly looked toward the doorway, half expecting the teenagers to come back. When nothing happened over the next few moments, he returned to his place behind the counter, spreading the newspaper out before him, and began to read the latest news.

* * *

It had been about a half hour since Ranma and Akane arrived back at the Tendo dojo. It was obvious to everyone who lived there that the "couple" had gotten into another argument, though no one knew what had happened. Everyone just shrugged it off as another one of their pointless arguments, and they would both recover from it eventually. They had separated from each other as soon as they entered the house; Akane marched straight to her bedroom while Ranma headed outside. 

Ranma was sitting on the small stone statue in the garden next to the koi pond. He had removed his shirt and was holding it out before him, allowing the breeze to sail through it as though that would somehow rid it of the stench. He watched it billow in the gentle wind, simply because there was nothing else to look at, before bringing it back up to his nose and checking on the smell. He made a face.

"Yep. Still there."

Frustrated, he tossed the shirt over his shoulder and headed back into the house. He would just have to get it washed and change into a different top. He'd have to find Kasumi and ask her if she could take care of it. It just so happened that he had been wearing one of his favorites that day.

As usual, Kasumi was found preparing dinner in the kitchen. Her light brown hair was tied with a white ribbon, draped over her right shoulder. Kasumi was dressed nicely, as to be expected of someone of her character, in a yellow long sleeved top and a long fuchsia colored skirt. She had tied a faded pink apron around herself, the one that she usually used while cooking, almost completely covering her outfit.

"Kasumi?"

The young lady turned slightly to look over her shoulder. There was Ranma, standing in the kitchen doorway in his white sleeveless undershirt and pants, his favorite Chinese shirt in one hand.

"Yes, Ranma?"

"Can you, uh..."

The pigtailed boy didn't like having to turn to Kasumi everytime something came up with his clothes. Everytime he got into a fight and his clothes got ripped up, he always had to ask Kasumi to fix it. He was starting to feel bad for her. As if she didn't have enough things to do around the house. Kasumi just smiled at Ranma, then looked down at the shirt. She put the carrot she was washing on top of the cutting board, shut off the water from the sink, and wiped her hands on a hand towel as she crossed the room to reach Ranma. She took his shirt gently from him and inspected it.

"It doesn't look like it needs mending..."

"Well, yeah, it's not ripped or anythin', but..."

Ranma caught himself before telling her that he had gotten some nasty smelling perfume on it. That would've raised quite a few questions, such as whose perfume it was and how it had gotten on his clothes. He cursed himself mentally. He wasn't exactly the best when it came to lying. Acting, yes, but lying was something else.

"Uh... I, uh... landed in a dumpster. Head first. And... so now my shirt smells all weird."

Kasumi put one hand over her mouth, drawing in a breath. "Oh my! Did Akane throw you in again?"

For a moment Ranma was confused. "Wha...? Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah."

"Oh dear," Kasumi murmured. "Akane and her temper."

Ranma nodded in agreement, scratching the back of his head nervously. He had almost completely exposed his own lie. "So, uh, can you wash it for me?"

Kasumi hesitantly lifted the shirt to her face and smelt it cautiously. She then pulled back slightly, a confused expression on her face. Ranma laughed nervously as he watched her.

"Smells nasty, huh?"

"But, Ranma," Kasumi said slowly, smelling the shirt once again. "I don't smell anything."

Ranma's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

He took the shirt back into his hands and took in its scent. The smell was gone. Ranma pulled away from the shirt and gaped at it. How did that happen? It had been emitting the most wretched smell ever less than ten minutes before. Now it was completely gone. But as Ranma put the shirt back on, a strange new feeling began to build.

Kasumi gave Ranma a concerned look, tilting her head to one side. She was about to ask him if everything was alright when a loud, familiar round of laughter echoed down the hallways from the entrance hall. Two middle-aged men dressed in martial arts gis marched into the house cheerfully, their arms on each other's shoulders as they walked. The taller of the two men had long dark hair and a moustache, with expressive lines on his face from frequent sessions of crying and laughing. The other man was of a much stockier build, with large round glasses and a light blue bandana wrapped around his balding head.

Their laughter grew louder as they walked toward the dining room. Kasumi smiled as she poked her head out from the kitchen, tucking some of her light brown hair behind one ear.

"Hello father! Hello Mr. Saotome!"

"Good evening, Kasumi!" the men greeted the young lady in unison.

"Dinner will be ready soon, you two."

"Thank you, Kasumi!"

For a second, Ranma thought that he was having a heart attack. His heart began to beat more rapidly in his chest, and he began to feel dizzy, as though the ground would vanish from right beneath his feet at any given moment. Ranma did his best to push it aside and clumsily made his way out of the kitchen. He stumbled out the kitchen door and knocked straight into his father. Genma's face immediately fell into a more solemn expression as he gave his son a concerned look.

"Are you okay, boy?"

Ranma backed away, trying to compose himself as quickly as he could. He turned in the direction of the sitting room, waving his father's concern off.

"I'm _fine_, Pop."

Genma was about to protest, but Ranma had already managed to get further down the hallway. He watched with some degree of concern as his only son staggered into the sitting room, where he plopped down into a sitting position on the floor by the table. Ranma then leaned on the table, cradling his head in his hands, waiting for the feeling to go away.

After a few minutes of staying perfectly still with his head down on the table, the feeling subsided, and Ranma slowly raised himself up again. As soon as he had, he was greeted by the sight of a girl with dark chocolate colored hair that was only slightly longer than Akane's, watching him with amused brown eyes. She was about a year older than himself, dressed in a casual wide collared turqouise top that revealed the straps of the pink tank top she wore underneath. She was leaning on the table top as she sat on her cushion, sitting diagonally from where Ranma sat, her head resting on one hand. A plate of biscuits was laid out in front of her, and she had just popped one in her mouth. When Ranma saw her watching him, he groaned in annoyance.

"Whaddaya want, Nabiki?"

Nabiki Tendo didn't respond. She merely continued to stare solemnly at him as she finished off her biscuit. Ranma could've sworn he felt his eye twitch. He involuntarily jumped slightly backward. Nabiki was one of those people that he could never figure out. It always seemed like she knew everything, but he would never know for sure because any information that she knew had a price tag on it. And her prices were never cheap.

"_What_?"

"What happened between you and Akane?"

Ranma groaned at the memory. It was right at that moment that Soun and Genma chose to enter the room and settle in for the evening meal. They were equally curious about Ranma and Akane's relationship, which made sense considering the "future of their art" was riding on the successful marriage of the two sixteen year olds. They seated themselves in their usual spots at the table.

"Another argument, eh, boy?"

Soun shook his head sadly from side to side. "Sometimes I wonder about the safety of the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"Look, it was nothin' _major,_" Ranma snapped, shooting an annoyed glance at his father. He then looked at Nabiki with one eyebrow raised suspiciously. "How do you know that somethin' happened?"

The two fathers looked at one another before bursting out into laughter. Ranma resumed glaring at his idiot, irresponsible father. Nabiki chuckled amusedly, as though she had just heard a great joke.

"_Please_, Ranma. How long have you been staying here? And how long have you and Akane been engaged? You don't think I know how to read you two by now?"

The mention of their engagement sent Ranma's head into a whirl. The engagement was because of his father and his irresponsible promises, and the fact that Genma Saotome would sell his own son for a meal. Their fathers' promise to one another was why Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo were engaged. It was an arranged marriage. That was it. Yet Ranma was suddenly aware of a small part of him that was happy to be engaged to Akane. And that same part was hurt that Akane was upset with him.

_'Where did _that _come from?'_ he wondered.

"Why don't you two reconcile before dinner, hmm?"

"That's an excellent idea!"

Ranma began to feel dizzy again. He swayed slightly, even though he was sitting on the floor. He put one hand to his head, over his eyes. His vision had begun to blur. He could feel himself trembling and he suddenly felt hot. His heart suddenly began to beat faster in his chest, until it felt like it was going to burst. It then began to ache. Ranma put one hand over his heart as though that would help somehow. But it didn't. He felt as though something had gone missing, and he suddenly felt very much alone. Incomplete. Hollow.

To everyone else, Ranma looked like he had suddenly gotten sick. He looked as though a part of his body was in agony, and all he could do was cry over it. His face was red and feverish looking, and his breath had started to come in strangled gasps.

Concerned for Ranma's health, Nabiki leaned toward Ranma. "Are you okay, Ranma?"

He couldn't answer. His mind was on overload. He didn't know what was happening to him.

"Ah... Ah..."

"Ranma?"

"What's wrong with you, boy?"

Kasumi then entered the room from the kitchen with the rice cooker and utensils. She quickly went to work setting the table for the meal, smiling at all the familiar faces. Her smile widened as she straightened, clasping her hands together.

"I'll serve dinner in just a moment," she informed them cheerily. She then looked at Ranma and became very concerned. "Oh dear. Is Ranma alright?"

No one could answer her. They just shrugged their shoulders. Kasumi raised one hand to her cheek as she looked at him.

"Should we... call a doctor? Like Dr. Tofu?"

"NO!" everyone shouted in unison. Kasumi looked confused.

"I mean... Ranma will be just fine," Genma assured her, his voice shaken with nervous chuckles. "You needn't call Dr. Tofu."

Just then, the door slid open, revealing Akane behind it. She had changed out of her school uniform and was now dressed in a pink short sleeved top and a white skirt. She had an expression on her face that was similar to Ranma's. Akane swayed slightly as she stood, one hand on her forehead and the other on the doorframe. Everyone's attention turned to her as she entered.

"Akane!"

Nabiki looked up at Akane apathetically. "Oh, hi Akane."

At the mention of her name, Ranma spun around to look at Akane. Their eyes met and for a long time they just looked at each other. Everyone else in the room assumed that they were just about to reconcile. But it soon became apparent that an apology from one or both of them was not what was going to happen.

Before he even knew what was going on, Ranma jumped to his feet and ran toward Akane, slipping one arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. He then lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss.

Now, Ranma wasn't exactly an experienced kisser. He was only aware of being kissed three times in his entire life (though he refused to count two of them since one was with another boy and the other with a cat). But for whatever reason, kissing Akane came naturally to him. The ache and throbbing pain in Ranma's chest suddenly washed away. He couldn't recall a time when he had ever felt quite so content or peaceful as he was at that moment. The entire world seemed to fade away. Kissing Akane somehow felt right. There was nothing he would rather be doing, nowhere else he would rather be, no one he would rather be with than right there in that second with Akane.

That is, until he realized that four pairs of eyes were watching them.

Some part of his brain began to scream in humiliation. Alarms were suddenly going off in his head. A voice in his head that he had until now pushed aside began to yell even louder, telling him just how wrong that entire moment had been. Ranma immediately pulled away from Akane, his face bright red and his eyes wide. Akane looked exactly the same way. For a long time they were frozen, their arms still wrapped around each other, their faces still only inches apart.

Nabiki dropped the biscuit that she was just about to put into her mouth. It fell to the tabletop, breaking the silence with the soft thump. Genma and Soun instantly jumped to their feet and, locking their arms together, began to dance about the room in loud celebration. Soun then popped up around the young couple, tears of joy streaming down his face, while Genma continued to wave flags and throw confetti into the air.

"You two have finally decided!" he choked out between ecstatic sobs. "It does my heart good to see our youngsters getting along so well."

"Oh, to be young again!" Genma chimed in from across the room.

Soun's smile grew as he clapped their shoulders excitedly, releasing a loud, joyous cheer on each impact. Before they could even respond, Soun rushed to Genma's side, clasping his best friend's hands together. The two men both wept happy tears.

"Oh, Tendo!"

"Saotome! At last!"

"The future of our art is secure!"

Ranma turned to face them, waving his wands frantically in front of him. "N-No! This, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Of _course _not!" Akane pitched in, equally frantic. "How _can _it be? I, I mean, we..."

The parents were too happy to even acknowledge the fact that Ranma and Akane even spoke. They just continued their celebratory dance, oblivious to the protesting. Ranma and Akane looked down at the floor, their eyes wide in shock and their cheeks still burning in embarrassment. Kasumi clasped her hands together and smiled happily as she turned to Nabiki.

"Isn't this wonderful, Nabiki?"

Nabiki smiled wickedly. "Well, well. I guess I _don't _have you completely figured out, Ranma. Looks like you're not quite as timid as I thought."

"W-What're you talkin' about?"

"Who would've thought that you had it in you to do something like _that_? And in front of the girl's _family_." Nabiki grabbed another biscuit and bit into it. "_Wow_."

Ranma and Akane then looked at each other, each with the same nervous, embarrassed look in their eyes. Ever so slowly they separated, though every inch of distance seemed to be physically painful. The young martial artist swallowed hard. It took all of Ranma's willpower to fight off the urge to kiss her again. His mind began to work furiously, searching desperately for a shred of normalcy.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Akane protested, her face still burning red. "I-I don't know what happened, but... but it was like... I just couldn't help myself! Like I was... _possessed _or something."

Nabiki merely nodded slowly, skeptical. "Uh-huh."

"Really! I'm telling you the truth!"

It was at that moment that Ranma's mind managed to grab hold of something that seemed normal, and immediately yanked it out. He was only vaguely aware of what it was, but he was so desperate for things to return to normal, it barely mattered to him at the moment.

"You think I'd run over and kiss a violent, uncute, no sex appeal tomboy like _Akane _because I _wanted _to?" he shouted.

As soon as the sentence finished flying out of his mouth, Ranma froze, his eyes wide. Even though he had called Akane those things countless times before, this time had felt like spewing each word out like vomit. A tense silence followed. Soun and Genma stopped short in their celebrating and were suddenly staring at Ranma in shock. Nabiki and Kasumi both froze as well, Kasumi with her hands clasped over her mouth. After a moment, Nabiki shook her head slowly from side to side.

"Bad move, Ranma."

Her gaze then drifted over to look at Akane. For a while the sixteen year old girl was frozen, her eyes wide in horror. Then ever so slowly, her face began to twist in hurt rage. She bowed her head so that her face was covered in shadow and clenched her hands into fists.

"_Ranma_...!"

The enraged tone was altogether too familiar. He had heard Akane say his name like that a thousand times. He turned around slowly to face Akane, his stomach twisting into a knot as he knew what was coming next. Ranma immediately regretted opening his mouth the moment he saw the look on her face. Akane's face was twisted in sheer rage, but tears pricked at the edges of her eyes, threatening to stream down her face. She looked hurt and angry all at once, her hands clenched at her sides, her battle aura flaring.

"_Ranma, you collosal JERK!_" she screamed angrily.

She raised one hand high in the air and smacked it right across Ranma's face. The slap had been so powerful, everyone in the room could've sworn they heard the smacking noise echo over Nerima. Ranma put one hand absentmindedly to his cheek, now red. He was confused by the fact that the pain in his chest outweighed the stinging in his cheek. He could only watch as Akane glared at him for a moment longer before storming out of the room.

Kasumi took a small step forward, raising one hand toward Akane as though to stop her. "Oh, Akane! What about your dinner?"

"I'm not hungry," Akane shouted from down the hallway.

Ranma watched her for a moment as she began to ascend the stairs before stubbornly turning his head and stepping back into the room. Soun and Genma descended on him like a pair of vultures on a dead body. Their eyes were wide and teary as they burned holes into him.

"Ranma! How could you _do _such a thing?"

"You go up to Akane's room and apologize to her _right now_!"

That was when a sharp, insistent pain tugged in Ranma's chest. He stumbled backwards slightly as the image of the two fathers suddenly blurred in Ranma's vision. The room began to spin and the sick feeling returned to his gut. He put one hand to his head and tried his best to stand still as he waited for it to go away. Soun and Genma were too busy being angry with Ranma to notice.

"Ranma!"

"Well? Say something!"

He began to sway slightly in place. He was incredibly confused that the sick feeling didn't subside this time. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. A loud buzzing began in his ears, and everything that was said from then on was dulled out, as though the voices came from far away. Nabiki raised her eyebrows in affected surprise when she looked at Ranma.

"He doesn't look so good, Daddy."

Kasumi moved a few steps closer to Ranma, a worried look on her face. "Ranma?"

"What's wrong with you? Snap out of it, boy!"

The pigtailed martial artist reached out and managed to grab hold of Genma's collar. He gripped the fabric tightly between his fingers. He drew Genma closer to him, snarling angrily. He was about to say something when the strength was suddenly drained from him. Ranma's grip on his father loosened and he staggered backward. Everyone suddenly fell silent as they watched Ranma, shocked, as he began to sway from side to side. Within moments, Ranma's legs bucked from beneath him and he collapsed on the floor of the sitting room.

* * *

Ranma was sprawled out on the futon that had been spread for him on the floor of Akane's bedroom, staring up at the ceiling, reviewing what had happened over the past few hours. After Akane stormed out of the sitting room and gone back to her room, Ranma had fainted. He had just dropped to the floor for no reason whatsoever. And, as Nabiki had told him a few moments ago, Akane had _also _fainted. They found her collapsed at the top of the stairs when they were carrying Ranma up. The fathers had taken advantage of the fact that the two of them couldn't protest, and put them both in the same room. 

Nabiki had visited the room to check up on them. When she found that Ranma was awake, she began to ask him what was going on and what they had done that day after school that could've possibly triggered these events. Ranma hesitantly told her about the antique store and the weird smelling perfume, and Nabiki had then gone to check it out.

It had been a while since Nabiki left. Ranma himself had tried to go with her, but as soon as he stepped past the bedroom door, he was overcome with the strange wooziness from before. Once he went back into Akane's room, the feeling subsided. He had then been ordered to stay in the bedroom with Akane until Nabiki found out what was going on.

Ranma didn't like taking orders, but he didn't really have a choice, in this case. He groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. He was so bored. He wanted to go take a bath or something, but he couldn't leave the room. Ranma rolled onto his backside again. There wasn't even anything particularly interesting to look at in Akane's room. At least, not from where Ranma was lying.

He used a Chinese get up to stand and began to wander around the room in search of something to look at. When he thought about, it dawned on Ranma that he'd never really taken time to look around Akane's bedroom. The only reasons he'd ever entered Akane's room at all was because he was being chased, or he was chasing "P-chan", or he needed something from her. He wasn't sure why he should even bother, but now seemed as good a time as any to explore.

Ranma of course knew that the clothes drawers were completely off-limits, since they had girly things that he was not allowed to see. His body may switch from boy to girl when he got splashed with water, but Ranma was no pervert (despite the innumerable accusations of being one), and _definitely_ not a lecherous underwear fiend like Happosai.

Since the closets were a forbidden zone, Ranma wandered around the other side of the room. He checked the titles of the books in the book shelf to see what a girl like Akane would read in her free time. He found an obscene amount of cookbooks among them. Ranma grinned wickedly to himself. The way Akane cooked, she needed all the help she could get.

From there his attention wandered to Akane's desk. He checked the books that were on Akane's desk and noted that they were all textbooks for school. There was one textbook and a notebook lying open on the desk, with a pencil lying not too far away. Ranma skimmed what had been written in the notebook and grimaced slightly when he realized that it was part of the homework they'd been given for the weekend. He could hardly believe that Akane had already gotten a start on it. He shook his head slowly in annoyed disappointment. School held nothing of interest to Ranma. The only things he found worth learning at all were martial arts techniques, and Furinkan High's physical education course offered no challenge.

Then Ranma found something interesting. Sitting on the desk by the lamp was a framed photograph of everyone that he recognized had been taken during their summer trip, when they had wound up on Togenkyo Island. All the girls were nicely dressed, since they had all been turned into bridal candidates and therefore had needed to look beautiful for the prince.

Ranma noted with some annoyance that both Ukyo and Shampoo, his _other _fiancees, had latched onto his arms for the picture. Behind Ukyo were three of the Togenkyo soldiers, and behind Shampoo was Mousse, glaring at Ranma for "stealing" Shampoo from him. Cologne, Shampoo's great grandmother, was standing by Shampoo's feet, and Happosai had apparently been knocked into the air somehow. Ryoga could be seen behind Happosai, looking at Akane with an expression on his face that Ranma couldn't quite decipher.

Akane was standing in front of Ryoga, so she couldn't see him looking at her the way he was. She was merely smiling contentedly with her hands clasped in front of her. Touma, the young prince of Togenkyo, stood just behind Akane, waving to the camera. Further behind him was upperclassman Kuno and the entire Tendo family. Standing at the very back was a giant panda that Ranma knew was his cursed idiot of a father.

Ranma picked up the picture frame and smiled slightly. This had been his Christmas present to Akane last year. He could hardly believe that she had placed it right there on her desk. Ranma hadn't been in Akane's room too much over the last year, so he had never noticed it there before. Then, for the first time since he'd woken up, he looked over at Akane as she slept on her bed.

He put the picture back where he'd found it on the desk and crouched by the bed so that his face was level with hers. His heartbeat quickened as he watched her.

_'Wow, she's cute when she's asleep,'_ Ranma thought to himself with a small smile.

It wasn't long before he found with some degree of shock that he _liked _watching her sleep. He liked watching her take in deep, even breaths. He liked watching her eyes flutter about behind her eyelids as she dreamed. He even liked the way her hand loosely clung to the edge of her pillow.

Ranma's eyes suddenly grew wide as he caught himself, and, blushing, backed away quickly. He scampered backwards across the floor until his back pressed against the book shelf, several of the books shaking with the impact. Ranma then grabbed the small pillow that was resting on his futon and began to pace the room, punching the pillow softly as he tried to clear his head. After a while of doing this, he plopped back down on top of the futon.

_'What the hell is goin' on?'_Ranma thought to himself. _'I'm pretty sure that it's somethin' _else _makin' me think and feel like this... Like I told Nabiki, that weird perfume might've had somethin' to do with it...'_

He groaned in annoyance, turning his attention to the door impatiently. "I sure hope Nabiki gets back soon," he muttered, giving the pillow one last, soft punch.

"Hn...? Ranma...?"

He involuntarily threw the pillow out of his hands and it flew straight up into the air at the sound of his name. Ranma slowly turned his head so that he could see Akane as she slowly began to wake up and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She stared at Ranma for a long time, a confused, sleepy look on her face which slowly melted into one of annoyance and shock.

"What are you doing in here?"

By then the pillow had dropped back on top of Ranma's head with a soft thud. He found that the annoyed tone in her voice stung him slightly, much to his own chagrin. Ranma turned around so that he couldn't see Akane's face, setting his gaze on one of the cookbooks in Akane's book shelf.

"Hey, our dads put us in the same room and now I can't leave. It ain't my fault, so don't go blamin' me, got it?"

Akane's expression returned to one of confusion. "You... can't leave? Why not?"

"How should _I _know?" Ranma grunted. "When I tried, I got all dizzy. Like I hit some kinda weird, invisible wall." He then realized that it was easier to control himself and act normal when he wasn't looking at her. Not by much, but still easier. "Nabiki's out tryin' to figure out what happened to us. I had to tell her about the shop and the weird perfume stuff."

Akane looked down into her lap. "You did?"

"Yeah, well, I kinda had to."

"You think the perfume had something to do with this? I mean, with us..."

Both Ranma and Akane blushed, though they couldn't see each other.

"H-How would I know? I dunno! M-Maybe... I dunno!"

For a long moment they were both silent. Ranma felt his heart race when he realized that he could still feel Akane's eyes on him. He had the most powerful urge to turn around and look at her full in the face. To walk over and kiss her again. It was becoming more and more difficult to ignore the sharp, insistent tugging in his chest.

"Do, uh... Do you feel it, too?"

Akane's voice had been very soft and timid, catching Ranma completely by surprise. He turned his head only slightly, just enough so that she would be able to see part of his face.

"Feel what?" he replied, pretending not to understand.

"You know," Akane insisted, finally tearing her gaze away from Ranma and staring down into her lap. "The pulling. In your chest."

"I dunno what you're talkin' about," Ranma lied, trying to sound calm.

Akane screwed up her face, annoyed. "Liar."

Another silence followed between them. Neither one of them dared to move from where they were. They merely sat like a pair of statues, doing their best to ignore the fact that they were in the same room together. It worked to some extent, and the pulling feeling lost some of its potency. After several long, silent moments, there came a knocking at the door, at which Ranma jumped anxiously to his feet.

"Yeah?"

The door opened wide and revealed Nabiki behind it, standing with one hand on her hip and a smug look on her face. She looked first at Ranma and then at Akane, her smirk deepening.

"Oh Akane, you're awake," she said amusedly. "Good. I think you _both _need to hear this."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh, the madness of it all. :P I want Ranma and Akane to just be together already. They're so _cute _together, but they're both so shy and in such deep denial. They need to be thrown head-first into their relationship. Hence the introduction of a powerful potion. 

FYI: Chapter 1 is named after a song from the Grease _play_. The movie didn't use this song; it used "You're the One That I Want", the lyrics of which do not comply too well with the content of the chapter. I was thinking of naming all the chapters in this story after songs from Grease, but I changed my mind. :P


	2. Accidentally in Love

**Those Magic Changes  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Akane drags Ranma with her on a shopping trip and they both get a wicked whiff of some _strange _perfume. Turns out, it's not a perfume at all, and it has some pretty potent side effects...

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I _ever _own the characters of the Ranma 1/2 series. Sometimes I wish I did, but the truth is that I don't. Credit for the idea of this story goes to Paperdoll, the author of the Harry Potter fanfic "Drawn to You". This story is named after a song from the play "Grease", and the chapters are named after various songs. Credits for all of those go to the appropriate people.

**Author's Note: **Wow, I wasn't expecting so many positive reactions:D I'm glad everyone likes it so far. The NWC will, of course, be appropriately featured, which is why this story is turning out to be longer than I had originally planned... I wanted it to be a one shot, but currently it's starting to look like it's gonna reach 4 or 5 chapters... Oh well. :D I hope you guys still have fun reading this!

* * *

_**Chapter 2  
**_**Accidentally in Love**

_How much longer will it take to cure this?  
__Just to cure it 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love  
__Makes me wanna turn around and face it  
__But I don't know nothin' 'bout love_

"I think you _both _need to hear this," Nabiki told Ranma and Akane smugly. "It's _pure gold_."

Akane leaned forward, her eyes wide. "W-What? What's going on?"

Nabiki let out a breath and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. "Well, you two couldn't have picked a better bottle of 'perfume'. I asked the owner of the store about it, and it turns out that you guys stumbled across a form of - dare I say it - love potion."

Both teenagers' jaws visibly dropped open. "_WHAT?_ 'LOVE POTION'?"

The shocked, horrified tone in their voices was music to Nabiki's ears.

"That's right. Ranma? Akane? You two are head over heels in love with each other."

She couldn't help but smile as she watched Ranma and Akane. Now, Nabiki Tendo's life revolved around money and objects of monetary value. This was a good thing, since quite a large fraction of the Tendo family's income came from her various businesses. She could put a price on _anything_, from photographs to boys to break-ups. But the expressions that could be seen on Ranma and Akane's faces were just _too _good. Almost priceless.

"Well, I'm sure you already know that it's not the kind that takes away _all _control over your actions," Nabiki went on. "You're clearly able to resist. The potion has more an effect on the _body _than the mind. Though the body _is _often able to influence the workings of the mind." Her wicked smile deepened still. "But I'm sure you two already knew _that _as well."

Still in a state of shock, Ranma followed Nabiki with his eyes as she crossed the room and seated herself at the foot of Akane's bed. She crossed her legs and leaned back, propping herself up with her arms. She let out a long breath, then glanced over at Akane. Akane was frozen, her eyes wide.

"You alright, Akane?"

She nodded her head stiffly in response. Nabiki then looked back at Ranma with a smile.

"How about you, Ranma?"

For a moment there was only silence since Ranma found himself unable to speak. He eventually managed to will some strength back into him and turned his head to look at Nabiki.

"Are we... stuck like this _forever_?"

Nabiki had considered telling them exactly that, but had then decided it would be too mean. Besides, she didn't quite like the idea behind love potions. The way she saw things, people should be in love with each other because they really did fall in love. Having a love potion was like cheating. And as shrewd as Nabiki Tendo may be, she was not one to cheat. Especially since cheating had never been able to make her any money.

"Fortunately for you two, no," Nabiki answered honestly. "It wears off over time."

This news came as a great relief to Ranma and Akane, and they both let out an audible sigh.

"How long?" Akane asked.

"Well, let's see," Nabiki said thoughtfully, leaning forward so that her elbows were resting on her knees. "The man said that since you used up about half the bottle, it'll last for about a week. _But_, until that week is up, you two have to be together _all the time_."

The two teenagers looked at one another for a moment before turning their incredulous gazes on Nabiki. "_Together_? _Always_?"

"That's right," Nabiki replied coolly. "You have to stay within a certain distance of one another or be in the same room. You'll both pass out on the spot, otherwise."

Ranma ran his hands through his dark hair in frustration, spinning around on his heel so that he was facing the opposite wall. "You've gotta be kiddin'!"

"I never joke, Ranma."

"Oh yeah!" Ranma shouted, turning around again. "Then what about when you--"

Nabiki shot a mean glare in Ranma's direction. "I _never _joke, Ranma."

She then calmly rose to her feet and walked toward the bedroom door. Ranma and Akane watched her for a moment before dropping their embarrassed gazes to the floor. Nabiki gave them one last smug look before opening the door and stepping into the hallway.

"Oh, and by the way," she called over her shoulder, "I would suggest calling a truce. As in, no arguing or fighting. That goes _double _for you, Akane. Sending Ranma flying through the roof will knock you _both _out."

Akane bit down on her lip nervously before nodding in silent agreement. A smug smile crossed Ranma's face. He couldn't help but rejoice at the idea of not getting beaten up and sent flying through the air over and over again.

_'The week might not be all _that _bad,' _Ranma thought.

Nabiki looked back at the couple before closing the door and winked. "Later, you two."

Just as the door began to shut, Kasumi's voice rang out from downstairs and Nabiki halted.

"Akane! Time for your bath!"

The youngest Tendo daughter was confused. "Right now?"

"Please, Akane."

Akane sighed in defeat. "Okay, Kasumi."

Letting out an annoyed breath, Akane got out of her bed. Then, realizing for the first time that she was still fully dressed, she walked over to her closet and rummaged through the clothes for her pajamas. Nabiki watched her for a moment, pulling open the door and standing next to it expectantly. She then looked over at Ranma, who had just seated himself on the futon and looked to be deep in thought.

"What're you doing, Ranma?" Nabiki asked him, exasperated.

"Huh? What?"

"Akane has to go take a bath now."

"Uh... so?"

Nabiki narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Hello? Love potion?"

For a moment, Ranma had no idea what she was talking about. And then it hit him. His cheeks flushed red. "Wa-Wait a minute. Y-You don't mean..."

She rolled her eyes. "You're going to have to go in _with _her, of course."

Now it was Akane's turn to blush. She hadn't really been listening, but Nabiki's last statement had been difficult to ignore. Having already retrieved her pajamas, Akane jumped to her feet and spun around to face Ranma and her sister.

"But he _can't_!" Akane protested, red faced.

Nabiki wagged one finger in the air. "Oh, but he _can_."

The martial artist in question looked thoughtful for a moment before realizing what Nabiki meant. He groaned slightly.

_'Then again, the next week _could _be all that bad,' _he thought.

Nabiki smiled.

* * *

Ranma grumbled in annoyance while changing out of the wet clothes. She blew some of her wet red hair out of her eyes in annoyance as she shoved her pants and boxers down over her legs and tossed them toward the laundry machine. Ranma changed on one side of the room while Akane changed on the other. They were both facing the wall in front of them so that neither one of them could see anything. Ranma snorted to herself. Not that Akane had anything she wanted to see. 

As soon as she had completely stripped down, Ranma grabbed her towel and threw it over her shoulders. She straightened slightly, flicking her pigtail over her shoulder, and drew in a deep breath.

"You ready?"

"Almost."

She gritted her teeth together in mild annoyance while she waited a little while longer. Ranma had half expected that the dousing of water would cancel out the effect of the potion, but so far she had no such luck. As soon as Ranma had gone girl, she tried to march out of the room without Akane, but when she stepped through the doorway, she staggered backwards, dizzy.

After a few moments, Ranma could hear Akane's footfalls coming toward the laundry machine and the rustling of her clothes as she put them in. She was suddenly overcome with the urge to look over at Akane, knowing that she was now completely naked, but immediately resisted.

_'Get a grip on yourself, Saotome!' _she mentally warned herself. _'Akane's a thick-waisted tomboy with nothin' to look at! The urge is just the potion at work! Just the potion! Resist!'_

Ranma heard the door slide open.

"Okay, Ranma. Close your eyes and we'll go."

Unwillingly, the cursed martial artist obeyed, and shut her blue eyes. "Closed."

She could hear Akane take a few steps closer. Ranma winced when Akane grabbed hold of her pigtail and began to drag her into the bathroom.

"_Ow_!" she shouted, one hand reaching up and grabbing her pigtail defensively. "Could ya take it easy! This is my _hair_, y'know!"

"Stop being such a baby," Akane snapped, giving Ranma's pigtail an extra tug. "Your eyes are shut so you can't see in front of you, and there's no way I'm gonna touch _you_."

Ranma groaned. "I don't see why my eyes even _should _be shut. I've seen naked girls before. I mean, I've seen myself _plenty _of times. I've seen _you _naked before. So closin' my eyes is ju- _Ow_! _Cut it out_ already!"

Akane tightened her grip and pulled even harder on Ranma's pigtail as she continued to drag her over towards the shower. "_Pervert_."

Ranma pressed her lips together into a tight, annoyed line. _'This chick has called me a pervert since day one,' _she thought. _'Geez. She never believes a _word _I say.'_

The thought stung Ranma in the heart a little. Akane then released her fiancee, leaving her near the wall a few feet away from the shower. For a second Ranma was confused and raised her hands slightly in search of the knobs, only to find herself feeling the surface of the blank wall.

"I'm gonna go first," Akane called. "I'll tell you when I'm done, okay?"

Suddenly more annoyed than before, Ranma folded her arms over her chest and snorted. "Yeah, yeah, got it."

Her eyes were still shut tight, but it was easy for Ranma to see the frustrated look on Akane's face. She'd seen it so many times on so many occassions that she had every detail of it memorized. Ranma waited for Akane to finish her shower, and then waited a while longer until she heard her step into the tub.

"My turn?"

"Go ahead."

She was hating the fact that she had to ask. What was she, a child? Ranma sighed as she opened her eyes. As she turned around, she couldn't help but notice Akane sitting in the bath. She had her back to Ranma and was looking out the window, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Ranma rolled her eyes as she picked up the shower nozzle and turned her attention to bathing herself.

As soon as the heated water touched Ranma's skin, he breathed a sigh of relief. Being a girl was interesting, but it wasn't as enjoyable as most boys his age would think. Sure, his girl self was attractive and, well, busty, and it had been fun for a while, but when the idea of his body being this way _permanently _began to sink in, "fun" turned into "burden".

He let out an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes and just listening to the sound of the hot water pouring out of the shower nozzle. Ranma raised the nozzle slightly so that it was above him and water poured all over his face, his eyes still shut. He smiled. Hot water always felt good. Especially after a pitcher of icy water got poured over one's head.

After a long moment of silence, Akane rose out of the tub with a contented sigh. But as she turned around, she let out a small, high pitched squeal and turned back. Ranma almost spun around to face Akane at the sound, but quickly managed to stop himself.

"What?"

"Could you, um, turn back into a girl?"

Ranma raised his head slightly, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What?"

"You're a _boy_. Right now. And I... um..."

He almost burst out laughing when he practically heard the blush in her voice. Trying hard not to release his laughter, Ranma turned the other knob. She shuddered at the touch of the cold water on her skin, taking a step back. She ran one hand through her red hair, pushing her shaggy bangs out of the way, and quickly turned the shower off, putting the nozzle back in its place.

"Okay, I'm a girl again."

She listened to the sounds of the water in the tub as it stirred once again when Akane stepped out of it. Akane grabbed a towel and quickly wiped herself dry. She then wrapped it around her body and scooped up her pajamas, which had been sitting on a small plastic stool near the tub before dashing to the other side of the room. She came to a halt a foot or two away from the door and quickly began to put on her pajamas. Ranma ran her hands through her hair again as she made her way toward the tub.

"Y'know," Ranma said with a laugh, "I'm just gonna turn back into a guy once I step in the tub, so there's really no point in this."

Akane twiddled her thumbs for a moment before speaking. "Ranma?"

The martial artist halted. "Uh... yeah?"

"Could you change back into a guy _later_? Like, once we're both changed?"

To Ranma, the very idea of waiting to transform back to normal was not something she was willing to do. But given their unusual circumstances, she'd have to let Akane have her way. After all, Akane was the _real _girl, and seeing a naked boy (especially a naked boy as attractive as _Ranma_) probably wasn't something someone like her would find particularly appealing. Ranma sighed in defeat, stepping away from the tub and moving to join Akane at the doorway.

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

Kasumi passed a full bowl of rice to her father, who passed it on to Genma. 

"A love potion?" she echoed, looking at Nabiki with wide eyes.

"That's right, sis," Nabiki answered after swallowing a mouthful of her breakfast. "Right now, Ranma and Akane can't resist each other."

Soun and Genma looked at one another. Both of their faces seemed to be almost completely expressionless, save the excited, mischievous glimmer in their eyes.

"You don't say."

"Can't resist each other, eh?"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at her father. "Just like you've always wanted, right, Daddy?"

The head of the Tendo family laughed loudly, scratching the back of his head as Kasumi put a bowl of rice on the table in front of him. His daughter rolled her eyes as she inserted more of her breakfast into her mouth.

"You should stop relying on potions and spells and tricks to set those two up," Nabiki said bluntly. "Love isn't something you just _tinker _with."

Soun looked guilty. "Yes, but as long as they fall in love..."

It was Kasumi's turn to give their father a stern glare. "_Father._ You know better."

The middle aged man bowed his head in shame, tears rolling down his cheeks. Genma patted his best friend's back sympathetically before returning all of his attention to eating his meal, seemingly forgetting all about Soun's troubles. Within moments, Ranma and Akane walked sleepily into the sitting room together, rubbing their eyes and yawning.

"Good morning."

"G'mornin'."

"Good morning, you two! Did you have a good night's rest?"

"Uh-huh..."

Kasumi immediately began to prepare two more bowls of rice to be passed down to Ranma and Akane. They wandered to the other side of the table, nearest to the entrance to the garden, and seated themselves side by side near Nabiki. Nabiki studied them carefully from head to toe, screwing up her eyes slightly as she searched for even the slightest changes of behavior. Though she didn't completely approve of it, the whole love potion thing was a _very _intriguing matter to her. Genma was studying them in a similar manner, watching his son carefully behind the glare of his glasses.

Akane passed the bowl of rice on to Ranma, who thanked her sleepily as he took it into his left hand. He was just about to reach for his chopsticks when he realized that his hand was already holding something. Ranma didn't think right away to look at what it was. He tightened his grip around it carefully, a puzzled expression now on his face. Whatever it was, it was warm and soft, though part of its surface did seem a bit rough. It was quite firm, but not firm enough to withstand too much pressure. When he finally decided to look, his cheeks turned bright red.

It was Akane's hand.

His mind began to race. They were holding hands? How long had they been holding hands? Had anyone noticed they'd been holding hands? Did Akane know they were holding hands? The questions came to mind before he thought to let go. In an embarrassed panic, he raised their hands up into the air, still staring at it with his eyes as wide as saucers. He had half expected their hands to separate automatically. The action brought Akane's attention to it, since her body had gotten slightly raised. Of course, it also caught the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Uh... umm...!"

There was a moment of silence as everyone's eyes turned on Ranma and Akane. They then stared at their interlaced fingers. Ranma and Akane constantly switched between staring at their hands and at one another before they finally figured out how to let go and turned away, their faces red. The fathers immediately rejoiced, jumping to their feet (while still holding their bowls of rice) and singing happily to one another. Nabiki couldn't help but smirk.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Both martial artists looked at Nabiki in horror. Kasumi clasped her hands together and smiled.

"It's so wonderful to see you two getting along so well!"

Frustrated, Akane slammed her hands down on the table and quickly rose to her feet. "We're _not _getting along! _That _was because of the _potion_!"

Silence fell over the sitting room, everyone's eyes on Akane as she growled at them. He hated to admit it, but that had stung Ranma in the heart slightly. Nabiki was the first to return to normal, inserting another bit of food into her mouth. Slightly rattled, everyone followed Nabiki's example and slowly began to eat their breakfast. Akane watched them carefully for a moment plopping back down into her seat and picking up her chopsticks just as everyone else had.

"_Itadakimasu_!"

* * *

Ranma and Akane had agreed on a plan, which they announced during breakfast. They'd decided that they would confine themselves to Akane's room for the rest of the week. Ranma would have to arm himself with a rather large collection of comic books to keep himself busy, as well as his backpack of clothes. They would only leave the room when necessary, such as trips to the bathroom or meal times. School would have to be missed, as leaving the dojo was a definite no-go. 

This plan would have worked - if it weren't for the other members of the family.

Soun and Genma wanted them to leave the house as much as possible so that other people could see them together all the time. Kasumi needed them to run errands for her, while Nabiki insisted that they most certainly could _not _miss school, especially with Ranma's grades being as low as they were (which had been the same reason Ranma was willing to miss school). His average was somewhere in the C range. It wasn't like he was failing, but shrewd Nabiki convinced both families otherwise.

At the moment, Ranma and Akane were in the guest room that the Saotomes usually occupied, gathering things for Ranma. He was busy stuffing his backpack with clean sets of clothes while Akane watched. She had offered to help, but Ranma insisted he didn't need any.

"Good thing it's Sunday," he said. "Don't have to go to school and face everybody yet."

Akane was confused. "You think you can prepare for that?"

Ranma looked thoughtful. "I guess not... But having to go to class right away with that love potion in full effect would probably be worse than if we had one day to ourselves."

"But today isn't exactly 'to ourselves'," Akane reminded her fiancee while eyeing the comic books that he had lying on the floor. "After this we have to go get groceries for Kasumi."

"Oh, yeah." The martial artist groaned. "Damn, we're _still _gonna be out in public."

Akane nodded absentmindedly as her eyes caught on one of the comic book titles. She bent over and picked it up, staring at the cover. "Yeah..."

Having finished stuffing clothes into his bag, Ranma started on the comic books. "I just hope we don't end up running into any of _those _guys..."

As he began to pick up some of his favorites, he saw Akane staring at one of them. She seemed to be analyzing the front cover, not daring to open the book to see what was inside.

"What're you-"

"Why on earth is there a comic series about ramen toppings?"

Akane turned the book she was holding so that Ranma could see the cover. It was entitled 'Naruto' and had a picture of a boy with spiky blonde hair on the front. Recognizing it, Ranma immediately snatched the comic book out of Akane's hand and tossed it into his bag.

"It's not about food, it's about ninjas," Ranma explained calmly. He hoped that he didn't sound like a comic book geek. He hurriedly put the rest of the comic books into his bag before Akane could scrutinize any of the other series that he read. "Though a comic about food _does _seem kinda interesting..."

"Maybe you should suggest it to someone," Akane laughed.

He slung the bag over one shoulder as he finished and rose to his feet. He smiled thoughtfully as they exited together, heading for Akane's bedroom.

"Nah," Ranma replied. "Besides, if I could tell someone what kinda comic to make, I'd want 'em to make one about me."

"There's that ego of yours," Akane said with a sigh as she opened her bedroom door.

"No, really!" Ranma dropped his bag on the floor. An excited smile had made its way onto his face as he began to explain his idea. "Think about it! A guy that turns into a girl when wet? Guys turning into pandas and ducks and-" Ranma caught himself before mentioning pigs. "-cats? Martial arts, love webs... Sounds like a hit to _me_."

His heart skipped a beat when he realized he'd mentioned "love webs".

"And what would they call it?"

Ranma thought for a moment as he walked toward Akane. "I think 'Ranma 1/2' works pretty good, doncha think?"

Akane smiled and rolled her eyes. "If you say so."

They both laughed heartily at the idea. It was only when they stopped that they realized that they had wrapped their arms around one another's waists and their faces were only a few inches apart. They stood frozen in that way for several moments, their eyes wide and their faces red. He wasn't entirely sure, but Ranma could've sworn that their faces were slowly moving closer together.

Eventually, Akane lifted her hands and pushed Ranma away gently, lowering her eyes to the floor and biting down on her lip. Ranma was equally embarrassed. For that instant, he had completely fallen to the power of the love potion.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," Akane said softly.

Ranma said nothing. He merely spun around on his heel and opened the door. He stepped slightly to the side, making room for Akane to pass.

"We should get goin'," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Y-Yeah," Akane said with a nod, walking through the doorway.

* * *

They had to be extra careful when they were no longer in the safety of the dojo. By now, almost everyone in town knew who Ranma and Akane were. If they let their guards down for one instant and the potion slipped through, everyone would know about them before the day was done. By nightfall, they would get several violent visitors, which was something that both Ranma and Akane could do without, even if it was just for one night. 

They walked side by side with about a foot of space between them. Ranma had bought himself a popsicle stick to keep him busy while Akane shopped for groceries. Another thing to keep his mind off of Akane was staying on the lookout for Shampoo, Ukyo, Ryoga, Mousse, Kuno, or anyone else who would pop out and attack them.

Akane accepted the paper bag from the grocer with a smile and a slight bow and then turned to Ranma. He stuffed part of the popsicle into his mouth as he took the bag into his arms and then turned to walk away, trailing just behind Akane. She looked over at Ranma, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to..."

Ranma shook his head vigorously from in refusal. He then adjusted his hold on the bag so that he could comfortably continue to eat his popsicle as they walked. "I'm good."

She nodded her head as she slowly turned around and continued walking. Ranma adjusted himself again as he continued to follow her, still nibbling at his popsicle.

"Has anyone seen us yet?" Akane asked after a moment.

The martial artist raised his eyes and scanned the market. "Nope. And I think we're okay, since we're not _doin' _anythin' right now."

"Okay, good," Akane said with a sigh. "I don't know what I'd do if-"

"Ranma!"

Ranma bit clear through the popsicle stick at the sound of the familiar voice. He almost choked on the half that was already in his mouth and had to spit it out onto the floor. Akane rubbed Ranma's back soothingly, looking back over her shoulder to see who was coming.

"Oh, _no_," Akane groaned.

With one last cough, Ranma turned around slightly to see. He groaned.

"And we almost lasted two hours without anyone noticin'," Ranma drawled.

Running up the sidewalk toward them was a girl that they both recognized as Shampoo, one of Ranma's other fiancees. She was waving one arm high in the air as she approached them on her delivery bike, an excited smile on her face. Ranma sweatdropped as Shampoo slid to a stop and hastily dismounted her bike to run to him, letting it fall noisily to the ground. The Chinese Amazon grabbed Ranma's free arm, giggling cheerfully.

"H-Hi Shampoo!"

"I looking for you, Ranma!" she said to him sweetly.

Ranma laughed nervously. "Oh, really?"

Akane growled deep in her throat, her hands clenching at her sides as she glared at Shampoo. Her right eye twitched in agitation as she watched Shampoo squeeze Ranma's arm tightly and smile sweetly into his face. Her battle aura flared brilliantly, something that did not go unnoticed by Ranma. He glanced warily in Akane's direction.

"Akane? Are you...?"

Shampoo tightened her hold on Ranma's arm. "You doing something today, Ranma?"

He sweatdropped heavily as he looked back at Shampoo. "Uh... actually..."

"We're running errands for Kasumi right now," Akane managed to say through gritted teeth.

Ranma quickly switched his shocked gaze from Shampoo to Akane. He was almost certain that this was the potion acting up again. Then again, Akane became malicious and violent quite often. Shampoo merely smiled as she took the grocery bags from Ranma and handed them hastily over to Akane.

"Is okay! Akane can do errand by self! Ranma go on date with Shampoo!"

The martial artist panicked as Shampoo began to drag him away. He couldn't afford to pass out on the street because of that stupid potion! Especially not in the hands of Shampoo. Who knew what Shampoo would do to him while he was out like a light. He looked back toward Akane somewhat desperately, pressing his feet on the floor to slow Shampoo down.

"Akane...!"

Akane dropped the groceries to the floor and ran forward, grabbed Ranma by his pigtail, and yanked him out of Shampoo's clutches. Ranma winced only slightly, having gotten somewhat used to being pulled in all directions by his long hair. The Chinese Amazon looked at Akane angrily, clenching her fists at her sides.

"What you doing?"

"Ranma does _not _want to go on a date with you, Shampoo!"

"Who say?"

"_I _say!"

Shampoo narrowed her eyes. "If Akane want Ranma, then Akane fight Shampoo. Winner get Ranma for date."

The eyes of the martial artist in question widened. "Hey, hang on a sec!"

Both girls ignored him. "Bring it on!" Akane shouted.

By now, a relatively large crowd had formed a circle around the scene. Everyone watched the two girls face off, murmuring their surprise to one another. Ranma sweatdropped. They _really _didn't need to be attracting so much attention. Ranma and his so-called friends were infamous enough already. He immediately sprang to his feet and grabbed Akane by the shoulders, pushing her gently in the direction of the dojo. He put on his best smile under the circumstances as he led his fiancee away. Shampoo blinked, all of her previous malice vanishing from her face as she stared at her "beloved husband".

"O-kay! We should probably be gettin' back now, don't you think so, Akane? Nice talkin' to ya, Shampoo! See ya soon!"

"Hopefully not _too _soon!" Akane shouted over her shoulder.

Ranma immediately clasped a hand over Akane's mouth. He laughed nervously in Shampoo's direction, trying to cover up what Akane said. He _definitely _didn't need to deal with this.

"What's gotten into you?" he whispered into her ear as they walked away.

Akane's eyes scanned the floor as though the answer was somewhere there. "I, um..."

Upon seeing that the action had died down, the crowd began to disperse. Shampoo, unwilling to forgive Akane for her sudden insolent display, stomped one foot on the floor before bending over to pick up the bags of groceries that had been dropped.

"Akane forget groceries!" she yelled.

Shampoo then threw the brown paper bags toward Ranma and Akane with all the ferocious might that she could muster. Gasps immediately erupted from the remnants of the onlookers. At this, Ranma immediately spun on his heel and caught the bags without dropping any of the precious food that was inside. The onlookers applauded for the feat. Akane breathed a sigh of relief and took the groceries from Ranma carefully. Shampoo blinked in mild surprise as Ranma turned around, fed up.

"Knock it off, Shampoo."

The purple-haired girl put her hands on her hips. "Why Ranma so nice to Akane all of sudden?"

"Why can't you just get it through your thick skull that I _don't _wanna go on a date with you!"

"Tomorrow then?" Shampoo said quickly, persistent as ever.

"Not today, not tomorrow, not even next week!"

Ranma turned to leave. Still, Shampoo insisted, stepping forward.

"But Ranma love Shampoo! _Wo da airen_!"

At this, Ranma spun back around in a fit. "I _DON'T LOVE YOU_, YOU SELFISH CAT GIRL!"

The words struck a soft spot. Shampoo went rigid, shocked to hear the words come straight out of Ranma's mouth. Even Akane stared at Ranma in surprise. Everything was silent for a moment as Shampoo stared dumbly at Ranma, who could only glare back.

"Go home, Shampoo," he ordered.

He then turned back, took one of the bags from Akane, grabbed her by the hand and led her away. The crowd parted, making a clear path for Ranma and Akane to walk through. They all stared at Ranma, their eyes wide. It was only then that he truly realized what had just happened. And as he thought about it, Ranma couldn't quite explain what had come over him.

Shampoo was left thunderstruck, unable to do little more than watch as they walked down the street, away from her.

* * *

"Why did you yell at Shampoo like that, Ranma?" Akane asked incredulously. 

They were back in the safety of Akane's room. Akane sat at her desk, finishing off her homework for the next day, while Ranma lay down on the floor, balancing and lifting fifty pound barbells with his bare feet. The pigtailed boy turned his head so that he was looking at Akane, tossing one of the heavy weights up in the air and catching it again with his foot.

"What about you?" he answered quickly. "What'd you think you were doin', pickin' a fight with Shampoo? You usually go after _me _when that kinda stuff happens."

Akane paused in her writing, her brow furrowing thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure." She shook her head slowly, dismissing it, as she continued to do her work. "It might've just been the potion. But what about _your _outburst?"

Ranma raised his entire body off the floor with his arms, still balancing the barbells on the soles of his feet. He began to swing himself gently, his eyes on the weights, making sure they never fell.

"Well... It mighta been the potion. But I couldn't just _let _her hit you."

Akane drew in a small breath, her cheeks turning pink. "R-Really?"

"I mean, if you and Shampoo got into a _real fight_, I'm pretty sure Shampoo would win."

Akane's grip around her pencil tightened in anger. "Really..."

Ranma continued without noticing. "She's got a lot more fighting experience than you do. And with that old hag trainin' her, she's got the advantage of havin' some _pretty good _techniques. Bein' an Amazon, she was probably born with some crazy strength. As for you, well... you haven't been doin' much trainin' lately, other than your morning jogs and cinderblock smashing."

Frustrated, Akane dropped her pencil, spun around in her seat, grabbed one of the barbells off Ranma's feet and thrust it toward his head. With a loud yelp, Ranma managed to dodge the weight by a hair. Of course, this caused the other barbell to fall, dropping heavily into Ranma's gut. The boy shouted out in pain, rolling over so his forehead was pressed to the futon, his hands on his stomach.

"If Shampoo's such a good martial artist, maybe you should just go and marry _her_!"

"I don't _wanna _marry her!" he managed to wheeze out. "She's a psychopath! I'd _much _rather marry-"

Ranma immediately cut himself off. His eyes grew wide and he clasped one hand over his mouth. His cheeks flushed red. It was a good thing that Akane couldn't see his face while he was in that position. Akane's gaze turned slightly less vicious.

"Who? Who would you rather marry?"

His whole body went rigid. _'I... I almost... At least, I _think _I... Was I really about to say...?'_

He couldn't even bring himself to finish the thought. He struggled to get into a sitting position, his back facing Akane. He folded his arms over his chest and hoped to high heaven that Akane couldn't see the redness in his face as he moved.

"Who were you going to-"

"Nobody, okay?"

Akane stared at Ranma, her cheeks pink as she figured it out. "Ranma..."

A long, awkward silence followed as Ranma tried to think of some way to cover up what he had said. Clearly the "nobody" line hadn't worked. It just seemed to make it more obvious. He wasn't sure whether or not he should deny the statement. Would denying it help? Ranma couldn't be sure.

He cursed under his breath at this failure, pressing his lips into a tight line. He didn't dare say anything more. Ranma strained his ears, waiting to hear something from Akane, but heard nothing but silence. At length, he could hear graphite scratching on paper as Akane returned to her homework. Still, neither of them spoke.

The awkward silence was eating at Ranma's heart. The potion had flared up again, demanding that Ranma go over to Akane and hug her or kiss her. He fought the urge off, lying down on the futon with his arms behind his head. He rolled onto his side that Akane couldn't see his face. He lay perfectly still, waiting for sleep to overcome him.

As Ranma began to fall asleep, he could hear light footfalls approaching him. He heard a rustling of clothes and was suddenly vaguely aware of a body hovering over him. Though Ranma's eyes were shut and he was practically asleep, his heartbeat involuntarily quickened. The body hesitantly drew closer, and a pair of lips touched Ranma's cheek in a soft kiss.

"Goodnight, Ranma."

Then the presence left. A small, drowsy smile played on Ranma's lips.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Before anyone threatens me with bodily harm: YES, there is more to come. :D 

Okay, this one was a tadrandom. A lot is happening in this chapter, so I had to do a lot of jumping from scene to scene. I was kinda hoping that that would help make it feel more like the TV show, but I'm not sure if that succeeded.

I wanna clear some stuff up: Ranma is _NOT _a pervert. He's just a typical guy, and currently under the influence of a strong love potion. Yes, Naruto has a cameo here.This is notout of pure fandom to Naruto, but because it makes sense to me that someone like Ranma would like to read that kind of comic book. I know that Naruto was published after Ranma, but in my world, everything crosses over. :P And also: Shampoo is poisoned honey (not my saying, I got that from my friend). No offense, Shampoo fans, but she just poses such a threat to my plans.


	3. There's A Fine, Fine Line

**Those Magic Changes**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Akane drags Ranma with her on a shopping trip and they both get a wicked whiff of some _strange _perfume. Turns out, it's not a perfume at all, and it has some pretty potent side effects...

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I _ever _own the characters of the Ranma 1/2 series. Sometimes I wish I did, but the truth is that I don't. Credit for the idea of this story goes to Paperdoll, the author of the Harry Potter fanfic "Drawn to You". This story is named after a song from the play "Grease", and the chapters are named after various songs. Credits for all of those go to the appropriate people.

**Author's Note: **Things are starting to get interesting now. Ranma and Akane have made it to school. What shall become of them now?

Ranma being anti-female? How can he be anti-female when he's half! and it's not really "abuse", it's just... a helluva lot of attention from the opposite sex. XD my theory is, the only reason Ranma's not tied down yet is because he's one of those insecure types. probably something that came out of the way his father raised him (stupid silly ol' Genma). :P

anyways... thanks very much to all who have reviewed! sorry for the long wait, things have been pretty crazy on this side of the fence.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 3**_  
**There's A Fine, Fine Line**

_There's a fine, fine line  
Between a lover and a friend...  
There's a fine, fine line  
Between reality and pretend..._

Breakfast the next morning was a nightmare. It mostly consisted of Soun and Genma teasing their children about spending the night together. Even Kasumi, sweet as she was, didn't make things any better. Ranma and Akane were bombarded with remarks about how "sweet" they were being, and how good a couple they made. Nabiki would put in snide comments of her own once in a while, but not for very long since she left for school before the couple. Ranma couldn't be sure whether or not that was a good thing. Knowing Nabiki, she would probably sell the news to Kuno before classes started in order to incite an early morning riot.

They ate their food as quickly as possible and made a mad dash for Furinkan High. Ranma and Akane were almost certain that life wouldn't be any better when they got to school, but they would at least be away from the family. Because of this, they arrived at the school grounds early, and were surprised to find that Nabiki hadn't sold them out. At least, not yet. Not taking any chances, they went straight to their classroom and seated themselves in their usual places next to each other.

"I don't think I'll last a week's worth of that torture," Ranma grumbled as he took his seat.

Akane nodded. "I know what you mean."

Ranma stretched his legs with a yawn before leaning back in his chair. He folded his arms over his chest and stared blankly at the ceiling. "Think we'll get through today?"

"We'll have to."

Turning to look out the hallway windows, Akane watched as students slowly began to filter into the hallways. She sighed, resting her chin in her hand. Ranma also let out a sigh, rocking himself back and forth on the back legs of his chair. He had _never _been to school so early. He could hardly believe how bored he was. Ranma suddenly wanted to find himself in a fight with Kuno. Even though Kuno was a total pushover, it would at least give him something to do.

Then the urges kicked in. Ranma felt a slight hollowness in his chest. He felt like he had to run over and kiss Akane right at that moment, or else. He fought to ignore it. Ranma focused on the ceiling, staring at the lights and dried paint.

_'Don't look at Akane, don't look at Akane,'_ he chanted to himself.

Suddenly, he felt her eyes on him. His heart began to beat faster in his chest.

"Ranma...?"

Just then, four students walked through the classroom doors. Akane blinked out of her daze as Ranma dropped his chair back into its normal position. The four students that entered were their friends: Hiroshi, Daisuke, Sayuri, and Yuka. Ranma and Akane looked at their respective friends, all of them exchanging surprised looks.

"Ranma? Akane?"

Both of their faces were slightly pink. "Uh... hi!"

The four friends exchanged shocked, confused looks before they approached. "What're you guys doing here so early?"

"You're _never _early!" Yuka remarked in surprise.

Akane laughed nervously. "Well, we, uh..."

"Yeah," Sayuri said as she sat down. "I mean... You guys usually make a huge scene out front."

Hiroshi grinned as he and Daisuke took their own seats. "Makes for some great early morning entertainment."

Ranma glared at Hiroshi. "Gee, thanks."

His friend's grin broadened. "Anytime."

More students began to noisily pile into the room, talking amongst themselves. Everyone's attention shifted, but only for a brief moment. Sayuri and Yuka immediately returned to their conversation with Akane while Hiroshi and Daisuke resumed teasing Ranma. The classroom began to erupt with noisy teenage conversation as more students piled in.

Daisuke leaned toward Ranma, dropping his voice so that the others couldn't hear him. "So this early morning thing... Does it have anything to do with Akane?"

Ranma's eyes grew wide and he jumped slightly in his seat. "_What_?"

"You know... having some _alone time_ together before class starts...?"

His cheeks flushed red. "N-No!"

Hiroshi turned to Daisuke with a grin. "He's hiding something from us!"

"Spill it, Saotome."

Among the last students to enter was Ukyo Kuonji, Ranma's childhood friend and fiancee number three. Upon passing through the doorway, she scanned the room in search of Ranma. She smiled when she spotted him (even though he was at his gloomiest at the time) and immediately walked toward him, flicking some of her long brown hair over her shoulder. She adjusted her uniform, the only girly one that she had, hoping to look especially attractive to her stubborn fiancee.

"Ran-chan!"

Ranma's head snapped around quickly toward Ukyo, his face still slightly red from being teased. "Ucchan!"

Hiroshi and Daisuke exchanged annoyed glances. The martial artist managed to escape from them once again.

"I didn't see you at all yesterday," Ukyo said. "You usually come by in the afternoon for some _okonomiyaki_... Did something happen?"

"Yeah, well..." Ranma laughed, trying to shake off his nerves. "Uh... It was just kinda busy yesterday, that's all."

Ukyo frowned slightly. The laughter hadn't fooled her. "Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh," Ranma said with a nod, resting his chin in his hands. He gave Ukyo a concerned look. "What about you? Are _you _okay?"

Ukyo blushed, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Y-Yeah, Ran-chan... I'm fine! Why?"

"You're wearin' a dress today," Ranma said bluntly, pointing at the Furinkan High girl's uniform that Ukyo was wearing. "You're sure you're okay?"

Her face fell ever so slightly. "I'm fine. Really."

Ukyo sighed as she walked toward her seat. As she did so, she happened to see Akane shoot her a mean look.

Hinako-_chan-sensei _then bounded into the room, a cheerful smile on her face with her books and clipboard in her arms. She giggled as she skipped up to the front of the classroom and placed her books on the teacher's desk. As soon as her arms were free, Hinako spun around to face her students, attempting to put on a stern face.

"Okay, you delinquents!" she called out in a sing-song voice. "Class is about to start, so get to your seats!"

* * *

Lunch couldn't possibly have come any sooner. After being bombarded by a series of boring classes taught by plain teachers, Ranma welcomed the break with open arms. As soon as the door slid shutbehind the last teacher as he left the room, Ranma stretched his limbs with a loud yawn and jumped out of his seat.

"It's finally lunch time!" he said excitedly. "Man, I am _starved_!"

Akane nodded in agreement as she put her notebooks and pens into her desk. She then began to sift through her things in search of the lunch boxes that Kasumi made that morning. Ranma seated himself on top of his desk and began to search his pockets for money.

"Damn, I shoulda brought more money today..."

"Don't worry about it," Akane told him. "Kasumi made us lunches today."

Ranma turned to look at Akane, an excited grin on his face. "Really? What'd she make?"

A confused look passed over Akane's face as she rummaged through her things. She then abandoned her bag and peered into her desk. Her expression slowly dissolved into panic.

"Oh no," she murmured softly.

Ranma tilted his head to one side. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot..." Her voice was barely audible.

"What?"

"We were in such a hurry... I forgot to get our lunches from Kasumi..."

Ranma leaned forward, his eyes wide. "_What_?"

"I forgot our lunches!" Akane wailed. "What're we gonna do?"

A huge part of him wanted to yell at her for being such a clumsy, thick-waisted idiot. But Akane was already practically in tears, and Ranma couldn't bear to see her in such a state. He hopped down from the top of his desk and knelt on the floor near Akane.

"It's okay!" Ranma assured her. "We'll just have to buy our lunch today. No big deal!"

Akane looked thoughtful. "But I don't think I have enough money right now."

"S'okay. I can pay for yours."

"W-What?"

Ranma smiled slightly. "I'll pay for yours."

Akane was stunned. "R-Really...?"

"Sure!"

"But... you just said that..."

"I don'tgot much, butit'll beenough."

Akane smiled, her cheeks pink. "Ranma..."

"So it's a date, then."

Both Ranma and Akane turned at the voice. They froze in shock when they saw Hiroshi, Daisuke, Sayuri, and Yuka hovering nearby. The two boys had their arms folded over their chests, smirks on their faces, while the girls merely stared. Ranma and Akane blushed.

"I knew something was going on between you two," Daisuke said.

"Wow, Akane! What happened over the weekend?"

"Suddenly you guys are like... a nice couple!"

The look on Akane's face was that of horrified embarrassment. "B-But we... We haven't...!"

Akane was ignored. The friends all turned to each other and spoke amongst themselves as though Ranma and Akane weren't there.

"I guess it was only a matter of time, eh?"

"I'm happy for them, but _really_. You think they could tell us sooner."

"So how far d'you think they've gone?"

Ranma groaned. He didn't need this. Ranma jumped up, grabbed Akane's arm, and made a break for the school store. He pulled Akane out of that classroom as fast as he possibly could. Hiroshi shouted out in surprise.

"They're escaping!"

"After 'em!"

What happened next was a chase that seemed almost straight out of a movie. Ranma and Akane dashed down the hallways as fast as they could, weaving their way amongst the crowds of students that were standing in the hall. It wasn't long before they could hear Hiroshi and Daisuke's voices calling out their names. Ranma smirked. It was a good thing that he and Akane were a lot faster than them.

The school store was impossibly crowded. Everyone was practically piled on top of one another as they tried to yell out their orders to the only woman who worked there. She did her best to give everyone what they asked for, but there were so many voices to listen to. As Ranma and Akane approached, Ranma cursed under his breath.

"No good," he muttered. "We're gonna have to hide and wait."

They swerved around the crowd of students and hid around the corner, pressing their backs to the wall. Akane shut her eyes and leaned back as she caught her breath. Ranma stayed nearest to the edge, peering out every now and then to see if Hiroshi and Daisuke had caught up yet.

"Looks like we're okay," he murmured.

"Good," Akane breathed.

Ranma sighed with relief and slowly turned back around to face Akane. He was going to tell her to stay quiet, but he hadn't realized that Akane had been trying to peer over his shoulder. Upon turning around, Ranma's nose almost brushed against Akane's. Blushing, he pulled back slightly and was about to apologize to her when he found that his voice had caught in his throat. Their gazes locked and they froze, staring into one another's blushing faces that were only a few inches away.

Suddenly all that either of them could hear was the sound of their own heartbeats. Ranma was painfully aware of the tiny gap between his lips and Akane's. He knew somewhere deep down that he should be fighting the potion off, but the idea just seemed too ridiculous. Why on earth should he fight off the urge to kiss Akane? It suddenly didn't make any sense. Ranma slipped an arm around Akane's waist, pulling her closer, and finally, slowly, closed the gap between them.

"Has anyone seen Ranma and Akane?"

Daisuke's voice pierced through Ranma's senses. A shudder ran up and down his spine and he quickly tore himself away from Akane. They pushed each other away and jumped back so that they were about five feet apart. For a long moment they were silent, still staring at each other's bright red faces. Akane brought one hand up over her mouth and gingerly touched her lips, as though she was testing that they were still hers. Ranma forced himself to look away, to look back down the hallway to see where Hiroshi and Daisuke were.

"Are Ranma and Akane here?"

"Nope, haven't seen 'em."

"Damn... where'd they go?"

Ranma leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at Akane out of the corner of his eye. Akane had found her way to the stairwell and was leaning against the rail, her eyes on the floor. For a while Ranma merely watched her, as though there was nothing more fascinating.

"Ranma and Akane? Yeah, they ran past here a little while ago."

The words snapped Ranma back to reality. He panicked slightly as he heard footfalls coming closer to where he and Akane were hiding. He then ran over to Akane, grabbed her arm, and silently led her down the stairs as fast as he could. He felt like he should say something to her, but he couldn't figure out what to say.

They hurried down the stairs to get to the courtyards on the ground floor and ended up crashing into Ukyo, who was headed for the same place. All three of them tumbled to the floor and laid strewn across the hallway, groaning at their new bruises. Ranma glanced over at Akane as he started to get up.

"Akane, you okay?"

"Uh-huh..."

Ukyo pushed herself into a sitting position and stared at Ranma and Akane in surprise. "What are you two doing, running down the stairs like that?"

They both looked up at Ukyo, slightly disoriented.

"You're lucky you bumped into _me_ and not some frail guy like Gosunkugi. He'd probably _break _if you hit him too hard."

Ranma quickly crawled over and put a hand over Ukyo's mouth. "Shh!"

For a long moment all three of them were frozen, Ranma straining his ears to hear any noise coming from upstairs. Hiroshi and Daisuke's voices seemed to fade away, but itwas hard to tell since there were so many voices coming from the students crowded around the school store. Deciding that they were safe, Ranma slowly removed his hand from Ukyo's mouth and rose to his feet. He extended one hand toward Akane.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, Ranma," she told him with a smile as he helped her up. "Thanks."

Ukyo blinked. "What's going on?"

"Hiroshi and Daisuke were chasing us down," Akane replied while dusting herself off. "They won't leave us alone! We ran out of the classroom, but..."

Ranma hung his head sadly. "With those guys on our tail, we won't be able to get our lunches from the store... Man, I'm starving..."

She'd been planning on asking why Hiroshi and Daisuke were chasing them, but when Ranma mentioned his own hunger... Ukyo looked from Akane to Ranma, an almost mischievous smile appearing on her face.

"Well then, you really _are _lucky you bumped into me! I can cook up some okonomiyaki! Right, Ran-chan? I'm sure you've been craving them since you didn't get any yesterday."

Ranma looked up at Ukyo excitedly. "Really? You'd do that for us?"

"Of course!" she said cheerily. "Anything for you, Ran-chan!"

Akane's right eye involuntarily twitched at the sight of Ukyo's excited smile. She clenched one fist when she noticed that Ukyo's cheeks were slightly pink. She growled deep in her throat as Ukyo grabbed onto one of Ranma's arms and began to lead him away, down the stairs.

"C'mon! We'll sit outside and eat under the trees!" Ukyo's blush deepened as she imagined the romantic setting in the shade of the trees.

"All right!" Ranma cheered. He then turned to Akane with a smile, casually freeing himself from Ukyo's grasp. "Let's go, Akane!"

At this, Ukyo was slightly startled. She blinked out of her dream sequence and looked at Akane. The youngest Tendo smiled and nodded her head, stepping up to join them. Ukyo stared at the warm smiles that they exchanged in surprise. Ranma then looked back at Ukyo and was confused at the expression on her face.

"You... okay, Ucchan?"

Ukyo raised one eyebrow quizzically. "Is something goin' on that I should know about?"

Both Ranma and Akane froze. "Wh-What're you talkin' about?"

"You've been acting kinda... _funny_. Since this morning. _Both_ of you have."

Akane smiled nervously. "Um... how so?"

"I dunno... you guys have sure been awful nice to each other today."

Ranma and Akane flinched. Akane sweat dropped, doing her best to smile. "You're imagining things, Ukyo! Right, Ranma?"

"She must be!" Ranma laughed.

Ukyo looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled as she resumed walking down the stairs. "I guess so. Ran-chan and Akane being nice to each other... Hah! That's a good one, Ukyo!"

Suddenly, Ranma felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. Was he really such a terrible person toward Akane? Why hadn't he ever noticed before? Ranma glanced at Akane. She was staring sadly at the floor as she walked. Ranma quickly looked away, guilt overwhelming him.

"C'mon you two," Ukyo urged once she stopped laughing. "If we don't hurry, we might not be able to eat lunch at all."

Doing his best to push the guilt aside, Ranma hurried to catch up with Ukyo. Akane did the same. It seemed like Ukyo was buying their story, though Ranma doubted that this would last for long. The three of them walked outside together and scanned the area for a good place to eat. As soon as they found a spot, Ukyo whipped out her grill and began to cook. The lunch was spent in a strange silence, at which Ukyo couldn't help but wonder at.

* * *

The chimes rang melodically, notifying the students that the lunch period was over. The students slowly filtered back into the room and headed back to their seats. They still chattered amongst themselves as they did so, since the teacher had yet to enter the room. Hiroshi and Daisuke had long since given up on chasing after Ranma and Akane.

"They're being so defensive," Yuka murmured. "Do you think maybe they want it to be a secret?"

"Screw secrets!" Hiroshi exclaimed. "I say we have a right to know!"

"Well, they have to come back here," Sayuri said. "We can ask then."

"That's true," Yuka said with a sigh.

"But where are they?"

Just then, the classroom door slid open and Ukyo stepped back into the classroom. She adjusted her giant spatula that was now attached to her back as she entered, then flicked some of her hair back. Hiroshi and Daisuke looked over at her and waved.

"Hey, Ukyo! Have you seen Ra-"

Before they could finish speaking, the couple in question walked in after Ukyo. Hiroshi and Daisuke immediately launched themselves at Ranma and Akane, pushing past Ukyo and knocking her to the floor. They stopped right in front of Ranma and Akane's faces, their eyes frighteningly wide.

"So how was your little date?"

"Where'd you guys _go_?"

"Ya have fun?"

"What'd you do?"

Ranma and Akane stared back at Hiroshi and Daisuke in shock. They opened and closed their mouths as they tried to figure out what to say, glancing at one another out of the corners of their eyes. Sayuri and Yuka approached the scene carefully, which is probably why they were the first to notice. And, being teenage girls, they were quick to bring it to everyone's attention.

"THEY'RE HOLDING HANDS!" they squealed.

"WHAAAAT?"

At this, the entire classroom was thrown into an uproar. Every single student in the room jumped up and clambered toward where Ranma and Akane were standing shock still. They were shouting so loud that nothing they said was understandable. Sayuri and Yuka were pointing at the couple's interlaced fingers, shrieking their excitement at the top of their lungs. Hiroshi and Daisuke were shoving one another back and forth in an I-told-you-so manner. Ukyo had finally recovered from being shoved to the floor and was also pushing through the sea of people to catch a glimpse.

Ranma and Akane's faces turned beet red. They hadn't the faintest idea as to when or how it had happened. Neither of them had even noticed until Sayuri and Yuka pointed it out. They looked at each other, their eyes wide, not knowing what to do. As soon as the screaming began, they released one another and turned away quickly. Ranma stared up at the ceiling and bit down on his tongue, unable to bear the burning sensation in his cheeks.

_'This potion is killing me,' _he thought, humiliated.

Several boys immediately grabbed onto Ranma and pulled him slightly away. Somebody slinked one arm around his shoulders and seemed to be congratulating him. Another boy was patting him on the back. Then it seemed like somebody jumped onto his back and was saying something right into his ear. Somebody else (who Ranma assumed was Ukyo) grabbed onto his shirt collar and began to shake him violently. Their voices all mingled together and overwhelmed him.

"Man, Saotome! If I had your luck with girls..."

"Ran-chan, how _could _you?"

"I knew you were a chick magnet, but _wow_!"

"Oh, Akane Tendo!"

"Ya gotta tell me how ya do it, Saotome."

"How'd you manage to snag _Akane_?"

"Way to go, man!"

"I _knew _you two were actin' funny!"

"Does this mean I can have Shampoo?"

"Share!"

The weight of his classmates and the pushing and shoving in all directions must have done it. Before Ranma was fully aware of what was happening, he realized that he was passing through the doorway once again. His eyes went wide as the wooziness overtook him. He staggered backward until his back (or rather, the back of whoever was on him) pressed against the far wall. Ranma tried to move forward again, his vision blurring as he looked frantically around him for Akane.

"A-Akane...!"

He wasn't sure exactly how loud he had shouted it, but to his muted senses it didn't seem like it had been heard by anyone. The sea of excited screams suddenly dulled, and it was as though Ranma's head had been submerged underwater. He thought maybe he heard Akane's voice, but it was hard to tell. It wasn't long before Ranma's knees bucked and darkness encompassed him once again. He was vaguely aware of his own fall to the linoleum floor.

_'Dammit...'_

_

* * *

_

Ranma woke up with a start. He shot straight up into a sitting position, his eyes wide. He looked about him wildly, trying to gain his bearings. He found himself in a very clean, tidy, well lit room. There were several long beds in white sheets lining one side of the room. A white screen separated the room into two; one side with the beds, and the other side with what appeared to be some sort of office. Ranma could sense someone's presence in the office area. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

_'Looks like I'm in the school clinic,'_ he thought. _'Hard to tell since I hardly ever need to come in here.'_

"Finally awake, huh?"

Surprised, Ranma turned around. Akane was sitting on one of the beds next to Ranma, her arms wrapped around her knees as she looked at him. She smiled at him slightly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. Ranma stared wide-eyed at Akane, partially mesmerized by the way she looked under such bright, white light.

"About time you did. Classes are almost done for today."

Finally snapping out of his daze, Ranma smirked. "'Almost'? Then I'm just gonna stay knocked out in here 'til they are."

Akane gave Ranma a scolding look. "_Ranma_."

He grinned mischievously. "What?"

She continued to glare at him for a little while longer before finally giving up. Akane smiled. "Honestly. You're so bad."

Ranma laid back down, propping his head up with his arms. "And proud of it."

They were silent for a while, Ranma lying down on the bed with his eyes shut and Akane still sitting on the edge of her bed. Ranma's heart was racing.

_'We're... all alone in here...'_

Suddenly all he could hear was the pounding of his own heart. He could feel all the blood rush into his cheeks. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could feel Akane's eyes watching him.

"So... we've been found out."

Annoyed with the fact that the sound of Akane's voice seemed so pleasant, Ranma turned onto his side so that Akane couldn't see his face. "Yeah."

"What do we do?"

"Not much we _can _do. Just wait this stupid potion out."

"But everyone in our class-"

"I don't care."

Another silence. Ranma had done his best to sound as disconnected as possible. It was obvious from the sudden tension in the air that he succeeded.

"Fine."

Akane sounded offended. Then Ranma heard the rustling of the sheets as Akane got off of the bed and stood up. He listened to the sound of her footsteps as she walked to the other side of the clinic. He loved that his martial artist's senses could interpret everything that Akane did. Ranma loved everything she did.

_'Wait... I _what

Akane's footfalls stopped. "Doctor, we can go back to class now. Ranma's finally awake."

The pigtailed boy shot straight out of the bed.

"HEY!"

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **This chapter was... challenging to write. Which is why it took so long. But aren't they cute? Aw, they're so adorable. :D That last part took a nice turn. I had been planning on doing something else, but that worked out perfectly.

About the "Ran-chan" and "Ucchan"... I'm allowing Ranma and Ukyo to keep their "pet names" for each other (in Japanese, since in English Ranma doesn't have one for Ukyo. and i use the term "pet names" very lightly) for a reason, so if it bothers you, don't worry about it. And"Hinako-chan-sensei" is how the students call Ms. Hinako Minomiya in Japanese. I like it a lot better than just plain ol' "Ms. Hinako". It's cute and endearing. :P


	4. Addicted to You

**Those Magic Changes**

_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Akane drags Ranma with her on a shopping trip and they both get a wicked whiff of some _strange _perfume. Turns out, it's not a perfume at all, and it has some pretty potent side effects...

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I _ever _own the characters of the Ranma 1/2 series. Sometimes I wish I did, but the truth is that I don't. Credit for the idea of this story goes to Paperdoll, the author of the Harry Potter fanfic "Drawn to You". This story is named after a song from the play "Grease", and the chapters are named after various songs. Credits for all of those go to the appropriate people.

**Author's Note: **Wow, what is going on with the length of this story? what happened to my oneshot plan? (sigh) 4 chapters and counting. it just grows and grows and grows... oh well :P hope you guys still like it!**  
**

**

* * *

**

_**Chapter Four**_

**Addicted**

_I'm trying to forget that  
I'm addicted to you  
But I want it, and I need it  
I'm addicted to you_

"So how far apart are we right now?"

Ranma bent down and checked the tape measure. "Twenty feet."

"Another step back?" Akane called.

"Go for it."

She raised one foot and slowly took a step backward. Almost instantly her head began to reel. Both martial artists swayed in place, one hand on the side of their heads.

"Come back! Come back!"

Akane moved back toward Ranma until they were only a few feet apart. The nauseous feeling subsided. They looked at one another for a moment and then sighed, exasperated.

Classes were over for the day, and now that everyone in their class more or less knew of Ranma and Akane's situation, no one really wanted to bother them. When they asked their friends if they wanted to hang out with them for a little while, no one agreed. Hiroshi and Daisuke just grinned wickedly and told Ranma that they were willing to give them their privacy. Sayuri and Yuka said that they didn't want to bring any bad luck to their relationship. Ukyo was too furious to speak to either of them and on their way off campus Ranma saw Gosunkugi in his voodoo get-up, hammering a straw doll into the trunk of a tree.

It seemed like no one outside of their class knew anything. Both Ranma and Akane were extremely impressed by Nabiki's self-control. Though it did raise questions as to why Nabiki was holding back the information.

"So twenty feet's the limit," Ranma murmured as he picked up the tape measure.

"I guess so."

They resumed walking as Ranma put the tape measure away. They walked side by side in silence, Ranma with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. He was viciously fighting off the urge to grab Akane. He could feel his fingers itching with the need to be holding her. What made the feeling seem all the worse was the fact that he knew it didn't have to be her _hand_. Ranma blushed.

_'It's the potion, Saotome! Get a grip!'_

"Can we..."

The sound of Akane's voice pierced through the silence. Ranma looked over at her, blinking in confusion.

"What?"

"Let's never do that again."

Ranma tilted his head to one side. "Do what?" Some part of him was praying that she didn't mean kissing. Which horrified the other part.

"Separating... like that."

"W-What?"

Akane hid her eyes. "I know it's probably just the potion talking, but... just now... when we were apart... it... well, it _hurt_. So..."

He blinked slowly. "Akane...?"

"Let's not be away from each other anymore."

The entire world suddenly seemed to fade away. All Ranma could see was Akane. He watched her, captivated and entranced, as she tucked some hair behind her ear. A nervous smile appeared on her face. Ranma was vaguely aware of the fact that she was saying something else. That vague awareness was only made possible by the fact that he was staring at her lips. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

"I-I mean... Until the potion wears off," Akane added. Ranma nodded, still in his daze. She glanced at him, confused. "What's wrong?"

Suddenly, Ranma was pulled back into reality. His eyes went wide and he could feel his cheeks burn. He clenched his hands into fists. "Wh-Whaddaya mean?"

Akane's cheeks turned pink. "You're, um... staring. At me..."

Ranma's entire head must have been bright red. "I wha!" He looked away quickly as Akane's blush deepened. "I-It's just that the, y'know, the _potion_, and... I wanted - I mean, the _potion _really made me wanna..."

He pressed his lips together, forcing himself to shut up. Ranma could feel more things wanting to spill out of his mouth; confessions, sweet talk, compliments, things that he would _never _say under normal circumstances.

_'This potion is killin' me,' _he thought for the second time that day.

* * *

Ranma sunk his head into the hot water, staring blankly at the linoleum tiles on the wall across from him. Akane had let him shower first tonight, since she had been first last time. What she hadn't realized was that his punishment for going first was having to listen, with his acute martial artist hearing, to Akane take a shower. Ranma sunk further, drowning his ears in the water so that all sounds were muted. He groaned, closing his eyes. 

The potion seemed to be getting stronger. Since they got home, Ranma caught himself watching Akane five times, Akane watching _him _seven times, three instances of gazing into each other's eyes, and two embarrassing moments of hand holding. Not to mention the insistent tuggings in his chest increasing in frequency. All of this was made worse by the fact that other members of the family witnessed a few of those moments as well. Some of it was even caught on tape. Ranma made a mental note to find that tape and to destroy it.

With one last head dunk into the hot water, Ranma got out of the tub, grabbed a towel and began to dry himself off. Part of him regretted doing so, because Akane was still in the shower and he could still hear every single droplet hit her skin. Ranma could practically form a mental image based on the sounds of the water droplets... He forced the thought out of his mind as he focused on getting dry and into his pajamas.

Unfortunately for him, he was so focused that he did the job altogether too quickly. Still trying to block out the sounds of Akane bathing, Ranma closed his eyes and began to hum softly to himself. It was a tune he knew fairly well and hummed often. He was so absorbed in his humming that he barely noticed when the shower was turned off.

"Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"Were you humming just now?"

His eyes snapped open and grew wide. He sweat dropped. "You heard? Was it loud?"

"Yeah, but you weren't really _loud_. I was just..." Akane laughed softly.

"What?"

"I was surprised, that's all."

Akane laughed again. Ranma folded his arms over his chest indignantly.

"Yeah, well, if it bugs ya so much I won't hum anymore."

"Oh, no, it doesn't bother me at all! Go on and hum all you like."

Ranma couldn't be sure if that last comment was sarcastic or not. Just to be on the safe side, he didn't dare hum any more. Of course, he no longer needed to hum, now that Akane was done with her shower and was sitting quietly in the bathtub. After another long silence, Akane rose to her feet and started to get changed. Uncomfortable with the silence, Ranma also stood and moved toward the doorway. There he paused for a moment, ready to slide open the door as soon as Akane was ready.

"You done?"

"Just about... Yep."

He turned so that he could see Akane. "Ready?"

Akane nodded. "Sure."

She walked toward him, a warm smile on her face. Ranma blushed slightly at the sight of her smile, even though he wasn't sure what she was smiling about. He scratched a spot on the back of his head as he turned away again. He slid open the door.

Two people and a panda stumbled forward as soon as the way was clear. The panda's weight pushed Soun and Nabiki loudly to the floor. A camera clattered and skidded across the linoleum, landing in a puddle of hot water near the drain. Ranma and Akane stared at the scene, half in horror and half in rage.

"Dad! Nabiki!"

"Pop, what the _hell _were you doin'!"

Genma pulled out a sign. 'We just wanted to see how things were going.'

Ranma grabbed the scruff of fur underneath Genma's chin and drew him close, growling dangerously. "You _what_!"

Soun raised his head, tears streaming down his face. "I'm just so happy that our youngsters have found love and romance at long last!"

Ranma and Akane's faces burned red. "Dad!" "Mr. Tendo!"

Nabiki straightened, regaining her cool. She walked calmly across the bathroom and picked up her camera. She held it carefully between her thumb and middle finger as she examined it and then let out a disappointed sigh.

"It's completely ruined. There goes my income."

Akane glared at her sister, her right eye twitching in rage. "And just _who _were you planning on selling those pictures to?"

Nabiki smiled mischievously. "To Kuno-baby, of course. He's my best client. I managed to get some shots of Akane and 'the pig-tailed girl'."

Both Ranma and Akane descended on Nabiki in the blink of an eye, looming ominously over her. Their eyes shared the same malicious gleam. Nabiki knew right away that she was in trouble.

"Na-biiii-kiiiii...!"

"Re_lax_, it's not like you two are actually _doing _anything."

Ranma snatched the camera out of Nabiki's hand. "But just in case..." He pulled the film out of the camera and tore it into shreds. He grinned wickedly in Nabiki's direction. "Now I'll be able to sleep better tonight."

She didn't even flinch. Nabiki stared at the remains of the roll of film blankly while Ranma celebrated internally. She tut-tutted quietly with a shake of her head.

"And that was a brand new roll," she murmured.

It suddenly felt like Ranma had been smacked upside the head.

"At least I still have the other roll," Nabiki continued nonchalantly as she walked away.

"H-Hey!"

Ranma would have chased after her to get his hands on that film, but the potion wouldn't let him leave the bathroom. Neither would Soun or Genma. The fathers stood stubbornly in the way, Soun with tears streaming ceaselessly from his eyes.

"I'm so proud of you two," Soun choked out between ecstatic sobs. "So when are we having the wedding?"

"What!"

"I would highly recommend a summer wedding. It'll be very festive and colorful!"

Akane's face had never been more red. "_Dad_!"

Genma raised another sign. 'I say May 14.'

Ranma cracked his knuckles. "Don't make me clock ya again, Pop."

Just then, Akane blew up. She took Ranma by the hand and pulled him away, out of the bathroom and down the hall.

"Let's go, Ranma."

This only made Soun happier. As he watched his daughter turn down the hallway, his grin widened. He cupped his hands around his mouth and took in a deep breath.

"Akane! MAMA MIA!"

* * *

"Honestly! They treat us like we're circus performers!" 

Akane practically threw Ranma back into her room as she spun around and shut the door. Ranma stumbled forward, almost tripping and landing on his face. He managed to catch himself quickly, avoiding an ugly collision between his face and the carpet. Akane pressed one ear to the door, listening to make sure that the hallway was empty as it should be.

"I can't believe they think that this is funny."

"Don't look like they think it's _funny_," Ranma offered with a shrug.

"What?"

"They seem pretty serious."

"WHAT? But that's _ridiculous_! We're not..." Akane trailed off, pressing her forehead to the door. She blushed slightly. "Honestly."

Ranma shrugged at Akane's reaction, then stretched his arms and yawned loudly. He scanned the room for his futon so that he could lay it out already. But he suddenly felt too lazy to. Ranma seated himself on the edge of Akane's bed, testing it, and then spread himself out on it. He smiled at how comfortable it was, and how pleasant the sheets smelled. Ranma shut his eyes and rolled onto his side, settling in.

"Hey, Akane."

"Hmm?"

"They're not there."

"Are you sure?"

"Absotively."

"How can you know for sure?"

"I can hear 'em. Trust me, they ain't there."

Akane hesitantly pulled away from the door with a sigh and smoothed down her top. She turned around, just about to go to bed, but stopped abruptly when she saw Ranma settled in on her bed. Akane narrowed her eyes and stomped over, grabbed Ranma's shoulder, and pulled him off the bed with all her might. The martial artist rolled off of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud and a yell.

"What'dja do _that _for?"

"You were on _my _bed!"

She seated herself on the bed, lifting the covers up over her as she got settled. Ranma stared blankly at Akane, confused.

"So?"

Akane's eyes went wide as she turned on him in disbelief. "'_So_'?" Akane echoed. "It's _my bed_, Ranma! I have first dibs!"

Ranma screwed up his face in annoyance and quickly got up onto his feet. "Well, ya think you could give it up for just one night?"

"Why should I?"

"'Cause I _always_ sleep on the _floor_! It'd be nice to sleep in a bed for a change!"

At this Akane looked thoughtful, tilting her head to one side. Ranma felt a small glimmer of hope. After a brief moment of thoughtful silence, Akane looked at Ranma and smiled.

"No."

Ranma's hope sunk. He narrowed his eyes, marched back and began to pull Akane away. Akane immediately resisted, digging her fingers into the sheets and holding on to the bed for dear life.

"_Back off_, Ranma!"

"Just for one night!"

"NO! This is _my _room and this is _my _bed!"

"Then just share, Akane!"

"Not with _you_!"

"Scoot over!"

Seeing Akane's nails deep inside the mattress, Ranma decided to switch tactics. He moved his hands from Akane's hips to her underarms and began to tickle her. Akane screamed with laughter at this sudden change, curling up into a ball and rolling from side to side in an attempt to ward Ranma off. Ranma grinned, pleased that his idea had worked.

"Stop it, Ranma!" she cried, the words intermingled with her laughter. "Stop it!"

The martial artist got onto the bed, moving around on his knees. He just laughed as he continued to tickle her, poking every ticklish spot on the human body that he knew of. Akane raised her arms and tried to elbow or punch him. Each attempted attack failed miserably, being too easy for Ranma to read through. Nothing stopped the situation from being funny, however. He was loving every moment of this.

"Ranma, _STOP_!"

Finally, one of Akane's attacks came through. A leg shot quickly out from underneath the blankets, delivering a hard blow to Ranma's gut. Ranma doubled over, eyes shut, wincing. He withdrew one hand to clutch his stomach. Akane immediately stopped laughing, adjusting her position so that she was facing him.

"Oh Ranma, I'm _so _sorry... I..."

The martial artist groaned. "Nice shot."

"I am _so _sorry."

Ranma slowly peeled open his eyes and as he did so, found himself face to face with Akane. The situation quickly turned slightly awkward. Akane was lying on her back in bed with Ranma leaning over her, their faces only inches apart. Their faces turned red as they gazed into one another's eyes.

_'Okay, Saotome,' _Ranma told himself. _'Now we back off before somethin' happens.'_

He struggled against the potion, forcing his body to withdraw and back away. Ranma managed to raise himself slightly, successfully pulling back a few inches away from Akane's face. Just as he was about to break free of the potion's effects, a hand had reached out and touched Ranma's cheek. His eyes grew wide at the soft touch and he could only continue to stare into Akane's eyes.

Alarms began to wail somewhere in the back of Ranma's mind. _'Danger! Danger! We've been hooked again! Resist! Resist! Fight! FIGHT!'_

But before Ranma even had the chance to pull himself back together, Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma's neck and drew closer. By then, all forms of resistance fell apart. Ranma's iron will collapsed at Akane's warm, soft touch. And before either or them really knew what was going on, they were kissing. They were kissing deeply and passionately.

It was one of the few, rare moments in his young life that Ranma felt completely at peace. Everything just washed away. The aching need in his heart was soothed at last. Ranma realized that the only other time he had felt this way was the first time they had kissed, that time in the sitting room on the first night of the potion's effects. Only Akane could make him feel like this. And he knew - he just knew instinctively - that Akane felt the exact same way.

After a long moment, they slowly pulled themselves a few inches away. They stared into one another's flushed faces. Then at last Ranma withdrew, seating himself on the far end of Akane's bed. He dropped his gaze into his lap as he tried to think of something to say. Akane bit down on her lower lip.

"Um..."

"S-So I'll just... sleep on the floor."

Akane nodded absentmindedly in agreement. Ranma slowly got off the bed and began to set up his futon. He kept his eyes on what he was doing, ignoring the fact that Akane was watching him from her bed. After turning off the lights, Ranma grabbed hold of his pillow, ready to toss it onto the mattress and then flop himself upon it. Ranma stared at the soft futon for a long moment and then spun around to face Akane.

"I-"

"That was my fault," Akane said quickly, interrupting.

Ranma blinked, disoriented at being cut off. "Uh... what?"

"I just... with the potion, and..." She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Silence fell over the bedroom. Ranma wasn't sure whether or not he should say something, but he was painfully aware of an aching in his chest. After a long moment, Ranma tore his eyes away, punching his pillow softly as he turned to stare at his bedspread on the floor.

"Yeah. No problem."

He tossed the pillow onto the mattress and flopped down on it. Ranma turned onto his side, stuffing his face into the soft pillow so that Akane couldn't look at his face. He stared blankly at several of the cookbooks in Akane's shelf as he listened to Akane settle back into her bed. He listened to her pull the blankets over her body and shift into a comfortable position. Ranma squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force himself to sleep. But his mind continued to wrestle with what had just happened.

_'She blamed the potion... She blamed it on the potion and apologized. I was just about to do the same thing... so...'_

Ranma clenched his jaw tightly. He didn't know whether he was more upset with what had happened or with the tears that pricked the corners of his eyes.

_'So why do I feel like this?'_

* * *

**Author's Note:** right now, i am liking this chapter. XD lots of odd developments here and there. i tried to keep it all clean. the scene with the bath and Ranma's acute senses was inspired by a chapter of the manga Oh My Goddess/Ah! My Goddess, in which Keiichi and Belldandy are attached at the hands and Kei has to be blindfolded as she bathes. and his mind... wanders, so to speak. :P the bed scene is more or less inspired by a true story (but not my own). also getting a lot of influences from Love Hina... been reading a lot of it lately. ;; probably not good to be mixing all these things up. 

May 14 - Tanabata Day. very special day for girls, apparently. supposedly means something special if you are wed/proposed to on that day. or something. not _completely_ sure.  
"Akane! MAMA MIA!" - this is one of Soun's actual lines. in the very last OAV episode with the hot spring and the doll of revenge taking over Akane's body. 'Akane' drags Ranma away and Soun yells that after her.


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